Focused or Divided Love

“The love of God abhors the present world system. ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world’ (1 John 2:15-16). Such purified love will always be the experience of the one in whom the love of God is imparted.” He That is Spiritual, L. S. Chafer.

In this verse, John’s use of the word “world” is the word “kosmos.” He is advocating a temporal, ethical dualism in which there is a constant battle going on between the realms of darkness and light. When people love or “agapao” the world, they are misapplying this human emotion in a way that will lead to their demise. The object of one’s love or affection is decisive and our allegiance must not be divided. Our affection must be focused and specific. If not a battle ensues for either side. One will always win over the other when it does.

The correct application of love here springs from the fact that the believer has a singular loyalty and commitment to the Father. This verse states clearly that one cannot love the world and love God at the same time. The absolute nature of this statement is striking and compels careful and serious reflection. The stakes are high. Because the Father’s kingdom is at war with the kingdom of this world, the two will never coexist peacefully. To pledge allegiance to one side is to declare opposition to the other (Daniel L. Akin, The New American Commentary).

Each day, every person in the world depends on something or someone. Let’s face it; we depend on our cars to get us to work and about, our payroll checks when they come due, our health to keep us moving each day, and various other things that effect our minutes, hours, weeks, and years throughout our lifetime. We depend on things unconsciously sometimes until it breaks down and we are faced with what to do next. Sometimes they are minor inconveniences such as the flu, or a flat tire. They don’t change our life in the long run but cause interferences in the act of daily life. They do however become life changing when we receive a notification of a life altering illness, the loss of a job, or loss of a close loved one. Our problem here becomes perspective, and many times we have life out of heavenly perspective.

The problem here is the fact is what or who we love can have some very big implications for us in the future. Can we depend on them always? You see your car and your clothes won’t last forever. In fact neither will your job, or your health; but Jesus will. Your eternity has been already secured if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. You can depend on it. So why not love Someone who has the ability to never let you down and forget about trying to feed our affections here on earth. Remember, this is a battle in the realm of light and darkness. Your allegiance cannot be divided.

What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love

“…the love God is toward His Spirit-born children. ‘Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life’ (Rom. 5:9-10); ‘Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it’ (Eph. 5:25). He loves His own even though they are wandering away, as is revealed in the return of the ‘prodigal son.’ ‘If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love perfected in us.’ (1 John 4:12). By this divine compassion the Christian proves his reality before the world: ‘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, of ye have love one to another.’ (John 13:34-35). He That is Spiritual, L. S. Chafer.

After reading this section from Chafer’s book, I can’t help but be moved by the parting paragraphs about the love we are supposed to show to the world. Jesus told us that when His love dwells in us it shows our genuine conversion when it is perfected in us. This comes through loving those around us.

I have said in the past few years what I have dreamed of about in this world. I used to be a fairly self-centered person who didn’t care about the needs of others around me. I was self-centered. However, as I continue to read the Scriptures and see the love and grace of God abound in my life, I couldn’t help but think of those who aren’t blessed with all I have been given in this world. In my former days, I attributed my “things” which I accumulated over the years due to hard work and doing what it took to get those things. Don’t get me wrong, there is still something to be said for this area as well, but let’s face it, some do not have the “things” we do. As I have encountered the Scriptures in my personal growth, I often think how much better the world would be off if we were able to bless others with things we have been given by the Lord. I think of how our country would be so much better off if people were not so self-centered (as I have been over the years). I think of how the country would never need public assistance programs for the communities if the church began to act upon the principles mentioned above. Think of the families who would never be hungry or do without if someone with a generous heart was around and willing to bless them. I think of how companies like, eBay, Craigslist, and others would probably go out of business.

There is a secret which I never learned until I had to get beyond myself. When we give, we unlock a portion of ourselves which God created into us from creation. It is the power to bless others. When we give it unlocks an unspeakable joy. This is a joy which no tangible thing can compare. It is what we were created to do; and when we do it unlocks a joy and a peace which can only come from God. Then again, I think of God who redeemed us, and made us His children. He (Our Father) was generous enough to us to send His Son to this earth to give us an unspeakable gift; our salvation and adoption! Think of how joyous the Father after He sent His Son to redeem all those who never could be with Him (because of their sin) or wandered away from Himself (like the prodigal) over the years. What a Generous Heart He Has!

Today, consider doing something nice and generous from your heart for your fellow man. You will unlock an unspeakable joy when you do so. And by the way, it feels good to be obedient to God and it is infectious!

Is Our Love Real or Self Centered?

“There is a very real human love; but all Christian love, according to the Scriptures, is distinctly a manifestation of divine love through the human heart. A statement of this is found in Romans 5:5, ‘because the love of God is shed abroad [literally, gushes forth] in our hearts by [produced or caused by] the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us.’ This is not the working of the human affection; it is rather the direct manifestation of the ‘love of God’ passing through the heart of the believer out from the indwelling Spirit. It is the realization of the last petition of the High Priestly prayer of our Lord: ‘That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them’ (John 17:26).” He that is Spiritual, L. S. Chafer.

This is a natural flowing of His love in and through the believer. It can’t be faked, produced, or manufactured by anyone in the natural realm or the human heart. This action only flows from the power of the Spirit which is embraced by grace and divine affection that controls both. The amazing this is the human heart cannot produce it, but it can experience it; and when it does… the believer has a divine taste of the heavenly fruit of heaven.

As Chafer says, “First the love of God imparted is not experienced by the unsaved: ‘But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you’ (John 5:42) God cannot work in the heart of one whom He has never communicated and experienced the forgiveness through Christ our Lord. So it is impossible for the lost to experience this divine heavenly fruit.

“Second, The love of God reaches out for the whole world: ‘For God so loved the world’ (John 3:16); ‘That he by the grace of God should taste death for every man’ (Heb. 2:9); ‘And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world’ (1 John 2:2).” This love we experience is a love we can only come to know from understanding the desire of God to enter into a relationship with every man, woman, and child. It knows no bounds and is not bound by the methods God goes through to seek out the lost. It took a great sacrifice of Christ to allow you and me to experience it.

When we wonder sometimes why our desire is not to share the gospel with people sometimes, maybe we should understand that it is God who has the desire to see the lost saved, and not our own human interest. If this is an act that can only be driven by the Spirit’s influence and control, then it is He who controls the actions that follow. And maybe it is because we are not rightly related to our God and His Spirit does not have the reign of our hearts (wow, did you have to say that?). When the heart is rightly related to God, the desire for the salvation of others is the first thought they have. Why? Because our thoughts are controlled by His desires for the lost.

In closing, when we first come to Christ in salvation, why is it that we think immediately about those who we want to see come to salvation? It is because the Spirit of God has full reign over our hearts at that time and sees what He sees in others. He has ultimate reign in our hearts at that time and our hearts are singularly aligned with His desires for mankind. So its gut check time…

Traveling with Jesus

“When walking by the Spirit the results are celestial: ‘Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh’; ‘So that ye cannot [when walking by the Spirit] do the things that ye [otherwise] would.’ ‘If ye are led of the Spirit ye are not under the law’; and ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance’ (self-control).” He That is Spiritual, L. S. Chafer.

The world looks to something in achieving all this; it is called character. A lot of time, effort, training, and self-repression are sought after in the pursuit of this word called character. The Christian however, has the ability to become that person of character by following the Spirit’s leading in their life. For the carnal man though, it is an insurmountable task, and becomes what many have said in the era of the Bible as a “hard saying.” As Chafer tells us, the difficulty with obtaining this character (or fruit of the Spirit), is a little word called “doubt.” He states that doubters have trouble with this and consider the task unreal and that it is not God’s gracious provision for His children. He further states; “The revelation that true Christian character is directly produced as a fruit of the indwelling Spirit stands on the pages of God’s Word. Clear statements are made and the Bible teaching on this subject is direct and uncomplicated. Not only so, but there many who are joyous witnesses that it is a reality in their personal experience.”

But these things do not come over time and any real Christian will tell you that he/she has not attained any one of these attributes in full potential in their entire lifetime. These victories begin small and sometimes unnoticeable to the one who is practicing the following of the Spirit of God in their life. In fact I have also noted a young man whom I am discipling who has no idea of the changes I have seen in his life over the last year of spending time with him. I even had to mention it to him one night after one of our sessions in the Word. He had no idea of how God is molding him into something he never expected, and I am thankful to see the Lord making those changes within his life, and allowing me to see them first-hand.

The walk of a Christian is not for wimps. In fact, it is so much easier to take the easy road and travel back to where you have been already. Why; because the road is already known and we know what to expect. That is called experience, but it is not character. Experiences can be bad as well as good. But the road that travels into new territory is always so much more exciting than going where you have always been. That is the exciting thing about traveling the road where the Spirit of God is leading. And He blesses us as we follow!

I leave you today with one small illustration from my life: In 2008, I had a chance to travel to Germany with my son by German rail. It was exciting to see the countryside pass by and see all the new sights. I remember as I sat like a child watching everything go by in wonder as I tried so hard to take it all in. It was a so much fun! In 2016, my wife and I took another trip to Germany by German rail. As we left Basel, Switzerland headed back into Germany, I again sat and watched the countryside go by in awe, trying once again to take in all the sights. When we got back into Germany on areas I had previously traveled with my son in 2008, I found myself doing something else because let’s face it; I had seen it all before. This is much like where God wants to take us in our walk with Him. He wants to always look to Him in great anticipation as to where we are going and to some place new. He wants us to try to take it all in. Otherwise, being in the same place we have been before gets a little uninteresting and boring. We could have taken a flight from Basel to Germany, but then all you see are clouds. We might have gotten there quicker, but missed so much along the way. This is the way our lives should be. I have a quote in my home which says, “Enjoy the journey, not the destination.” Let the Spirit of God do that!

Stop fighting the One who Loves You!

Speaking of the Christian; “He is to ‘walk worthy’ of the calling wherewith he is called, ‘with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.’ So, also on the other hand, his priceless fellowship ‘with the Father and with his Son’ must depend on the presence of these divine characteristics. There must be some quality of life and character in the Christian with which God can have fellowship. But if God finds anything like Himself in a human life, He must place it there; for He knows full well that such divine graces can never appear in a life apart from His own power. Thus if He, by His very nature, demands the heavenly graces as the only possible basis for communion with His Spirit-born flesh, but has made full provision that they may be produced by the Spirit…it is no longer something for the human strength to attempt, not is it to be done by help. It is the ‘fruit of the Spirit.’” L. S. Chafer, He That is Spiritual.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:19-25

We already know what our old self can do when left to itself. Our flesh here is more than our physical body. It represents all; spirit, soul, and body. This is the person we were before we were saved, and in that condition there is no way the real “spiritual fruit,” can come forward from that! In fact we note from this verse that the flesh hates the Spirit; “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Gal. 5:17)

There is nothing within each of us that could ever produce or manufacture the results that God can only do. Let’s face it; there is not even a spark within each of us which could be fanned to achieve the result. The only way this can occur is to give ourselves to the Spirit’s reign within each of our lives. When we do, the Spirit of God can accomplish what He came into our hearts to do at the day of each of our salvation. And God desires to complete that work within each of us from day one. This is much like what our new president; he went to work on day one. Let’s face it, he told everyone what he planned to do on day one as our president. Now so many people are surprised he is taking it on! Let’s just pray for him to accomplish all that is best for our country and pray for our new leader. It is our duty to pray for our leaders, whether they are good, bad, or indifferent.

So then we are left with two paths as a Christian; the carnal walk which is by the energy of the flesh, or a spiritual walk which is fueled by the Spirit of God. When we decide to walk in the Spirit of God, we will find that we will not fulfill the desire of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). Remember, each of these principles are directly opposed to each other and cannot be mingled together. And “walking in the Spirit is not the flesh being helped in some degree by the Spirit. It is said to be a direct accomplishment of the Spirit in spite of the apposition of the flesh” (L. S. Chafer).