The noun obedience appears 13 times in the New Testament. 4 of those times refer to "obedience of faith" which means to have faith in Jesus, have faith in the gospel. 7 of those times refer to other human obedience, 1 of which could contextually be applied to us today.
The noun faith (trust) appears 282 times in the New Testament.
The verb obey appears 23 times in the New Testament. 6 of those times refer to "obeying the gospel" which means to believe in the gospel, to believe in Jesus. 7 of those times refer to other human obedience, 3 of which are commands we could contextually apply to ourselves today.
The verb believe (trust) appears 221 times in the New Testament.
The adjective obedient appears 9 times in the New Testament. 2 of those times refer to being "obedient to the faith" which means to have faith in Jesus. 6 of those times refer to other human obedience, 3 of which could contextually be applied to us today.
The adjective faithful (trustworthy) appears 54 times in the New Testament.
Final Tally:
Obedience: 7
Trust: 567
Of course this is just based on these 6 words & without examining the contexts believe, faith, & faithful appear in, but still this should get us thinking. Our Father is more concerned with having a relationship of trust with His children than with having obedient servants.
We are however called to be obedient children (1 Peter 1:14), but obedient to the highest command of God which is "Trust in Me" (1 John 3:23, John 14:1). Trusting is obedience & trusting results in further obedience. The bible clearly communicates trust as most important. The difference between trust & obedience should be recognized. Therefore trust must come first. Trust has to be more important because everything is wrapped in trust. Many attempt to obey without trust. You can obey (ideas of God, the law, traditions of men, self-professed human leaders) without trusting God but you cannot trust God without obeying Him. Start with trust & you will have everything. Start with obedience & you may never get to trust.
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Friday, June 7, 2013
Monday, October 15, 2012
Commitment vs. Surrender vs. Cooperation
With commitment the focus is on what you are giving into the relationship. With surrender the focus is on what you are giving up for the relationship. This may be a surprise to most but the bible never uses either of those words to describe our relationship with God. The word that is used is submission which literally means "voluntary cooperation."
Commitment proclaims, "My utmost for His highest." Cooperation says, "His highest is fun!" Surrender says, "More of Him & less of me." Cooperation says, "Us." Commitment burdens you. Surrender takes away your value. Voluntary Cooperation gives you value without giving you burden. With cooperation the focus is not on what you are giving to God or giving up for God but on what God is giving you!
Commitment thinks God is demanding, "Do my will." Surrender thinks God is demanding, "Deny yourself." Cooperation knows God is offering, saying, "I've thought of some great things we can do today. What do you want to do with me?"
Synonyms for commitment are obligation, duty, adherence, dedication, devotion, responsibility, liability, promise, vow, oath, pledge.
Synonyms for surrender are despair, defeatism, giving up, quit, cave in, throw in the towel, succumb, resign, loss.
Synonyms for cooperation are unity, teamwork, collaboration, help, assistance, participation, responsiveness, helpfulness.
Commitment is the language of the law. Surrender is the language of shame. Cooperation is the language of loving relationship. Religion has added, removed, or reinterpreted words but God chose wisely the words He used. He doesn't demand commitment or surrender. He lovingly requests cooperation both for salvation and day to day living.
Remember we are His children & His friends. Our Father just wants to have a good time loving His kids & bringing more people into the family. He says, "Wanna go do something today for your older brother? Wanna go do something today for your younger sister?" No one in His family is looked down upon for opting out. They are loved just the same. Yes they are missing out on a good time with the Father & the family but they will be treated no worse by the Father even if they never want to cooperate. He will love us into participation & cooperation. That is our Father's unconditional love. Everyone is free & everyone is favored. Who could ask for anything more?
Commitment proclaims, "My utmost for His highest." Cooperation says, "His highest is fun!" Surrender says, "More of Him & less of me." Cooperation says, "Us." Commitment burdens you. Surrender takes away your value. Voluntary Cooperation gives you value without giving you burden. With cooperation the focus is not on what you are giving to God or giving up for God but on what God is giving you!
Commitment thinks God is demanding, "Do my will." Surrender thinks God is demanding, "Deny yourself." Cooperation knows God is offering, saying, "I've thought of some great things we can do today. What do you want to do with me?"
Synonyms for commitment are obligation, duty, adherence, dedication, devotion, responsibility, liability, promise, vow, oath, pledge.
Synonyms for surrender are despair, defeatism, giving up, quit, cave in, throw in the towel, succumb, resign, loss.
Synonyms for cooperation are unity, teamwork, collaboration, help, assistance, participation, responsiveness, helpfulness.
Commitment is the language of the law. Surrender is the language of shame. Cooperation is the language of loving relationship. Religion has added, removed, or reinterpreted words but God chose wisely the words He used. He doesn't demand commitment or surrender. He lovingly requests cooperation both for salvation and day to day living.
Remember we are His children & His friends. Our Father just wants to have a good time loving His kids & bringing more people into the family. He says, "Wanna go do something today for your older brother? Wanna go do something today for your younger sister?" No one in His family is looked down upon for opting out. They are loved just the same. Yes they are missing out on a good time with the Father & the family but they will be treated no worse by the Father even if they never want to cooperate. He will love us into participation & cooperation. That is our Father's unconditional love. Everyone is free & everyone is favored. Who could ask for anything more?
Monday, May 7, 2012
Obedience & Sacrifice
The bible says that "obedience is better than sacrifice." This was
originally talking about physical sacrifices on altars. It did not
refer to people "giving things up" in the way we think of sacrifice
today. Obedience doesn't always involve sacrifice, it can be joyful and
involve doing things you like. Obedience to God is utterly tied to
trust and love. Trusting Him is best for us and loving is best for all.
Enjoying love is obeying God.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Obey: An Invitation to Cooperation
Obedience to God is something that comes out of love for Him and others. Sadly most seem to focus more on obeying than loving. Obedience has been made out to be nothing more than adherence to the commands & principles of scripture. But the truth is, true obedience is loving cooperation through the spirit. With God we never walk or work alone.
Obedience starts with Jesus as a friend saying, "Can we do this together?" or with me saying, "I see what you are doing here God. Do you want me to join in?" Obedience still ends with a simple "yes" or "no" but God offers no punishment, anger, condemnation, or loss of favor if you choose not to cooperate. Christ has already taken care of our sins and God understands us fully. He knows who we are, where we are, and every intent of our minds & hearts. He wants to kindly love us to loving cooperation, to change our minds about our refusals because cooperation with Him always benefits someone.. While not all of His loving feels painless at the time He does nothing out of anger, selfishness, or dissatisfaction. God is our helper and our comforter and our friend. Nothing changes us so effectively as His loving-kindness.
Obedience isn't a GIVING IN to Christ's demands but a GIVING OUT of His love and life which are in us. We work with Him to carry out His kindness.
Obedience starts with Jesus as a friend saying, "Can we do this together?" or with me saying, "I see what you are doing here God. Do you want me to join in?" Obedience still ends with a simple "yes" or "no" but God offers no punishment, anger, condemnation, or loss of favor if you choose not to cooperate. Christ has already taken care of our sins and God understands us fully. He knows who we are, where we are, and every intent of our minds & hearts. He wants to kindly love us to loving cooperation, to change our minds about our refusals because cooperation with Him always benefits someone.. While not all of His loving feels painless at the time He does nothing out of anger, selfishness, or dissatisfaction. God is our helper and our comforter and our friend. Nothing changes us so effectively as His loving-kindness.
Obedience isn't a GIVING IN to Christ's demands but a GIVING OUT of His love and life which are in us. We work with Him to carry out His kindness.
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Life of God vs. The Knowledge of Good and Evil
In the beginning did God think, "It is harmless for Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, I just don't want them to, so I'll make a pointless rule about them not being allowed to eat of it. If they break that rule I'm going to call what they've done sin because it made me mad and I will have them and all of their generations suffer for ticking me off."
Was not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil a pointless rule that when broke would curse all of mankind? Was God being petty and cruel or was God wise enough to know that having the knowledge of good and evil is destructive to us?
Only God can properly handle having the knowledge of good and evil. God didn't create us to know good and evil He created us to know Him and be in relationship with Him. We often camp out at Jesus taking the penalty for our sin and unwittingly focus on our sin (which Christ took away) but we partake in Jesus' life in the resurrection. He took away our sin but most of us don't realize that. We focus on our sin and our knowledge of good and evil. Our sin is away and our life in Christ is here. Which is better to focus on what is away or on what is here? That which was taken or that which was given?
Man ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that is what brought sin into the world. Jesus died on a tree. Sin was brought in by a tree and sin was taken out on a tree. Christ died to the knowledge of good and evil so we don't have to live by that. Our life is not to be about "doing good and abstaining from evil." It is to yield to Jesus and trust Him to live through us.
The knowledge of good and evil gets in our way of knowing Jesus Christ the tree of Life. We are to "throw off the sin that so easily entangles us and fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our trust/faith in Him, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising its shame" (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Shame is the result of living by the knowledge of good and evil. Shame is what caused Adam and Eve to hide from God in Genesis 3:8. Before they ate from the tree in Genesis 2:25 it says that they were not ashamed. In Genesis 3:10 Adam says they hid from God because they were afraid of God. Shame and fear cause you to hide from God. I cannot emphasize enough how universal, absolute, and real that truth is, shame and fear cause you to hide from God. Shame is what makes you think you have lost favor with God. Shame is the opposite of grace. When you live by the knowledge of good and evil you will feel shame, you will have fear, you will feel guilt, you will judge yourself harshly, you will judge others harshly.
We are not branches of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are branches on Jesus, the tree of life. We live by His life by trusting Him. When we judge ourselves and others by our knowledge of good and evil we will be miserable and cruel. When we consider ourselves living to God in Christ Jesus we will experience God's love and will be loving to others.
Eve said in Genesis 3:13, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Today we eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because we are deceived by the serpent. Christ came to reverse the spiritual effects of the fall of man in the garden. When Jesus raised to life He came out of the tomb and into a garden. We were raised with Him. We are in that garden also. The garden of His life, love, grace, and righteousness.
Romans 6:6-11 says, "Our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin for we have died and are freed from sin. Because we died with Christ, we trust that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Since it says to consider "in the same way" let us look at the "same way."
Since you were raised from the dead you cannot die again, death has no mastery over you. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who trusts in Me will live even if he dies." (John 11:25)
The death you died, you died to sin once and for all; but the life you live, you live to God. Consider yourself dead to sin because you are. Consider yourself alive to God in Christ Jesus because you are.
Jesus wants us to feast on Him. He is the bread of life, He is the tree of life and He is our life. God doesn't want you to try to be good. Trying to be good is eating from the wrong tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God wants you to let His life live through you. That is eating from the tree of life.
God said to Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die. "The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).
Here are some highlights from Romans 6-7:
Sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. You are under God's favor. You have been set free from sin. Law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives. You died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to Jesus who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code (the law, obligation, knowledge of good and evil). Thanks be to God, who delivers us through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Our Lover and His Bride
Let's look back at Genesis 2:22-25 & 3:21-23, "The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed."
"The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken."
Ephesians 5:29-32 says, "Christ feeds and takes care of His body, and we are members of His body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the Assembly."
Jesus said in Matthew 19:4-6, "The Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.”
Colossians 3:1 says, "You have been raised with Christ." Genesis 3 is referred to as the fall. When Christ rose He lifted us up. Let us now take a look at Genesis 2 and 3 through the lens of the new covenant and through the eternal eyes of Christ.
"The Father fashioned His Son's bride out of His Son, and brought her to His Son. The Son said, "This is now spirit of my spirit, and mind of my mind.” For this reason the Son left His Father in Heaven, to be joined to his wife; and they shall become one as the Father and Son are one. And there is no shame."
"The Son sacrificed His skin, His flesh to clothe His wife with Himself. Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the woman has become like one of Us, and now, she can stretch out her hand, and take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever!”"
Was not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil a pointless rule that when broke would curse all of mankind? Was God being petty and cruel or was God wise enough to know that having the knowledge of good and evil is destructive to us?
Only God can properly handle having the knowledge of good and evil. God didn't create us to know good and evil He created us to know Him and be in relationship with Him. We often camp out at Jesus taking the penalty for our sin and unwittingly focus on our sin (which Christ took away) but we partake in Jesus' life in the resurrection. He took away our sin but most of us don't realize that. We focus on our sin and our knowledge of good and evil. Our sin is away and our life in Christ is here. Which is better to focus on what is away or on what is here? That which was taken or that which was given?
Man ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that is what brought sin into the world. Jesus died on a tree. Sin was brought in by a tree and sin was taken out on a tree. Christ died to the knowledge of good and evil so we don't have to live by that. Our life is not to be about "doing good and abstaining from evil." It is to yield to Jesus and trust Him to live through us.
The knowledge of good and evil gets in our way of knowing Jesus Christ the tree of Life. We are to "throw off the sin that so easily entangles us and fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our trust/faith in Him, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising its shame" (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Shame is the result of living by the knowledge of good and evil. Shame is what caused Adam and Eve to hide from God in Genesis 3:8. Before they ate from the tree in Genesis 2:25 it says that they were not ashamed. In Genesis 3:10 Adam says they hid from God because they were afraid of God. Shame and fear cause you to hide from God. I cannot emphasize enough how universal, absolute, and real that truth is, shame and fear cause you to hide from God. Shame is what makes you think you have lost favor with God. Shame is the opposite of grace. When you live by the knowledge of good and evil you will feel shame, you will have fear, you will feel guilt, you will judge yourself harshly, you will judge others harshly.
We are not branches of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are branches on Jesus, the tree of life. We live by His life by trusting Him. When we judge ourselves and others by our knowledge of good and evil we will be miserable and cruel. When we consider ourselves living to God in Christ Jesus we will experience God's love and will be loving to others.
Eve said in Genesis 3:13, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Today we eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because we are deceived by the serpent. Christ came to reverse the spiritual effects of the fall of man in the garden. When Jesus raised to life He came out of the tomb and into a garden. We were raised with Him. We are in that garden also. The garden of His life, love, grace, and righteousness.
Romans 6:6-11 says, "Our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin for we have died and are freed from sin. Because we died with Christ, we trust that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Since it says to consider "in the same way" let us look at the "same way."
Since you were raised from the dead you cannot die again, death has no mastery over you. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who trusts in Me will live even if he dies." (John 11:25)
The death you died, you died to sin once and for all; but the life you live, you live to God. Consider yourself dead to sin because you are. Consider yourself alive to God in Christ Jesus because you are.
Jesus wants us to feast on Him. He is the bread of life, He is the tree of life and He is our life. God doesn't want you to try to be good. Trying to be good is eating from the wrong tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God wants you to let His life live through you. That is eating from the tree of life.
God said to Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die. "The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).
Here are some highlights from Romans 6-7:
Sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. You are under God's favor. You have been set free from sin. Law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives. You died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to Jesus who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code (the law, obligation, knowledge of good and evil). Thanks be to God, who delivers us through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Our Lover and His Bride
Let's look back at Genesis 2:22-25 & 3:21-23, "The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed."
"The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken."
Ephesians 5:29-32 says, "Christ feeds and takes care of His body, and we are members of His body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the Assembly."
Jesus said in Matthew 19:4-6, "The Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.”
Colossians 3:1 says, "You have been raised with Christ." Genesis 3 is referred to as the fall. When Christ rose He lifted us up. Let us now take a look at Genesis 2 and 3 through the lens of the new covenant and through the eternal eyes of Christ.
"The Father fashioned His Son's bride out of His Son, and brought her to His Son. The Son said, "This is now spirit of my spirit, and mind of my mind.” For this reason the Son left His Father in Heaven, to be joined to his wife; and they shall become one as the Father and Son are one. And there is no shame."
"The Son sacrificed His skin, His flesh to clothe His wife with Himself. Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the woman has become like one of Us, and now, she can stretch out her hand, and take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever!”"
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Did God Desire for All of His Laws to Be Obeyed?
In the Old Covenant God commanded sacrifices & offerings but in Psalm 40 and Hebrews 10 God said that He does not desire such offerings and sacrifices that He commanded.
In John 8 a woman was about to be put to death for adultery as the law said to do in Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22-24. Jesus did not condemn the woman.
If God did not desire the sacrifices He commanded in the law perhaps He did not desire other commands He gave in the law. Jesus is the exact representation of God so we are to look to him for the character of God. In John 8 Jesus did not desire to kill the woman even though the law said that is what should be done.
Often we try to justify the Old Covenant laws with logic but perhaps these laws were to speak to the people's hearts about the need for forgiveness. Jesus said the second greatest law was to "love your neighbor as yourself." If you were caught in sin that was punishable by death you would want to be forgiven. You would not want to have stones picked up by others to kill you. If you love your neighbor as yourself you wouldn't pick up stones to kill Him. You would instead say, "Lord have mercy on us all!" Ultimately in Jesus God did show us all mercy and He freed those who trust Him from the law and its penalties.
For those who think that the story from John 8 should not be in the scriptures based on it not being found in the earliest manuscripts consider that in John 4:18 Jesus knew the woman at the well's heart and revealed that she was an adulterer. He did not take the woman at the well and stone her! Jesus fulfilled the whole law yet He did not come into the world to condemn the world.
Related Posts
The Purposes of The Law & Its Punishments
What if The Story of 'The Woman Caught in Adultery' Never Happened? Examining John 7:53-8:11
The Devil Has the Power of Death
In John 8 a woman was about to be put to death for adultery as the law said to do in Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22-24. Jesus did not condemn the woman.
If God did not desire the sacrifices He commanded in the law perhaps He did not desire other commands He gave in the law. Jesus is the exact representation of God so we are to look to him for the character of God. In John 8 Jesus did not desire to kill the woman even though the law said that is what should be done.
Often we try to justify the Old Covenant laws with logic but perhaps these laws were to speak to the people's hearts about the need for forgiveness. Jesus said the second greatest law was to "love your neighbor as yourself." If you were caught in sin that was punishable by death you would want to be forgiven. You would not want to have stones picked up by others to kill you. If you love your neighbor as yourself you wouldn't pick up stones to kill Him. You would instead say, "Lord have mercy on us all!" Ultimately in Jesus God did show us all mercy and He freed those who trust Him from the law and its penalties.
For those who think that the story from John 8 should not be in the scriptures based on it not being found in the earliest manuscripts consider that in John 4:18 Jesus knew the woman at the well's heart and revealed that she was an adulterer. He did not take the woman at the well and stone her! Jesus fulfilled the whole law yet He did not come into the world to condemn the world.
Related Posts
The Purposes of The Law & Its Punishments
What if The Story of 'The Woman Caught in Adultery' Never Happened? Examining John 7:53-8:11
The Devil Has the Power of Death
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Love that Leads to Obedience
Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey my commandments" and "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word." These are not conditional statements that are placing a demand. It does not mean "your obedience proves your love." It is a promise. It means "love will cause you to obey."
If you love your wife you won't leave her. However, the fact that you don't leave her doesn't mean that you love her. You don't prove your loving by just hanging around. But your staying with her is motivated by love. It is because of love that you stay with your wife. Likewise it is because of love that we obey God's commandments. You can however keep the rules and not even know God just like you can stay with your wife and not show her one bit of love. Obedience is just a fruit, an outward evidence, of inward love.
Obedience does not produce love. Love does produce obedience and it is God's love for us that produces our love for Him!
Love only exists in a relationship. Doing can be an expression of love but love comes from knowing not from doing.
The word Jesus uses for love describes a self-giving love. You only give yourself to someone you trust. The more you trust the more you are willing to give and share. Trust, or faith as it is often called in the Bible, is what opens the way to the growth of knowing, and loving, and giving. Trust means you consider God to be trustworthy enough to know, that He is truthful about Himself, and loving enough to be encountered.
Jesus commanded us to "love one another just as He has loved us." As John later wrote "We love because God first loved us." It is His love that shows us how to love. Jesus is essentially saying "I will love you so much that you will love one another, obey my commands, and my love will for you makes us friends. I will fulfill the requirement of loving. I chose you and chose to love you so much that you will love me and love others. I will be loving enough for the both of us. You will love because of me and you will love with my very own love."
Scriptures Referenced:
"If you love me you will obey my commandments" (John 14:15)
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word" (John 14:23)
"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I loved you." (John 15:12)
"We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19)
If you love your wife you won't leave her. However, the fact that you don't leave her doesn't mean that you love her. You don't prove your loving by just hanging around. But your staying with her is motivated by love. It is because of love that you stay with your wife. Likewise it is because of love that we obey God's commandments. You can however keep the rules and not even know God just like you can stay with your wife and not show her one bit of love. Obedience is just a fruit, an outward evidence, of inward love.
Obedience does not produce love. Love does produce obedience and it is God's love for us that produces our love for Him!
Love only exists in a relationship. Doing can be an expression of love but love comes from knowing not from doing.
The word Jesus uses for love describes a self-giving love. You only give yourself to someone you trust. The more you trust the more you are willing to give and share. Trust, or faith as it is often called in the Bible, is what opens the way to the growth of knowing, and loving, and giving. Trust means you consider God to be trustworthy enough to know, that He is truthful about Himself, and loving enough to be encountered.
Jesus commanded us to "love one another just as He has loved us." As John later wrote "We love because God first loved us." It is His love that shows us how to love. Jesus is essentially saying "I will love you so much that you will love one another, obey my commands, and my love will for you makes us friends. I will fulfill the requirement of loving. I chose you and chose to love you so much that you will love me and love others. I will be loving enough for the both of us. You will love because of me and you will love with my very own love."
Scriptures Referenced:
"If you love me you will obey my commandments" (John 14:15)
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word" (John 14:23)
"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I loved you." (John 15:12)
"We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
"God is love" or "love is God"?
God is love. Jesus said if you love me you will obey my commandments. Obedience to Christ is the fruit of love it is not the tree. Jesus Christ is the tree of life, the God who is love. There is no fruit without the tree. There is no love without trust in Jesus Christ. Good deeds apart from Christ may look like the fruit of love but without Jesus Christ, the tree of love, they cannot be.
"God is love" is much different than "love is God." "God is love" does not mean that we should define God by what we think love is. "God is love" means we should define love by who God truly is.
"God is love" is much different than "love is God." "God is love" does not mean that we should define God by what we think love is. "God is love" means we should define love by who God truly is.
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