“…in whom (Christ) you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance…” Ephesians 1:13,14
Dear Ones:
There are many characteristics of the love of God. They are as pure and holy as God Himself, for He IS love. There is one aspect of the love of God which can easily go unnoticed, yet must be grasped, for the life to change. It is that of love’s unrelenting hold upon the believer.
In the gospel of John, the Lord Jesus, in speaking of His sheep, is recorded as declaring: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” (10:28) He goes on to add that, “…no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (v.29,30) Not only does He put the full force of His person, authority and power, behind His words, but then He opens our eyes to see the matter in another dimension, that of the Father’s work. And since the Lord Jesus and the Father are ONE, there is indeed no power or authority that can pluck the believer out of the hand of God.
The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Romans spoke of the same great, and blessed reality. He first asks the question: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (8:35) He offers a short list of things we might think can do so. But then, he elaborates further, using a longer list of other “potential” enemies of faith and love, which the believer might be deceived into believing. He writes: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (8:38,39) When a person comes to faith in Christ, receiving Him by the Spirit into the heart, that believer is sealed forever IN CHRIST, in living union with Him. The presence of the Spirit of God is the assurance, proof, or earnest of that relationship and promise. From that point on, though the winds and storms of difficult circumstances, persecutions, opposition, or the spiritual forces of the wicked one may assail him, nothing will be able to separate the believer from the love of God. There will never be a breach, even a crack, in the union of the believer with Christ. His life is hid with Christ in God. How important is this concept, and how does it apply to our lives?
It is very comforting to know that he believer is in God’s hands, and that nothing, nor anyone, can separate us from the love of God in Christ. But there is another application, and it has to do with the experience of our highest calling, that of loving God, our neighbor, our brethren, and our enemies. What is it about this love of God that is so very different from that of sinful man? The Apostle Peter could reveal that to us very clearly, as he experienced the failure of human love, in the face of spiritual opposition. He learned well the lesson that, “…the arm of flesh will fail you; you dare not trust your own.” What then is the remedy to the immense need within the life, and in service to God, with regard to others? As the answer to question of separation with Christ is resolved in seeing that we are forever IN HIM, so the appropriation, and experience, by prayer and faith of the love of God has its answer in that blessed union.
The Lord Jesus told His disciples, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” (Jn. 15:12) Later on in John’s gospel, the Lord expresses His purpose in prayer to the Father: “…that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me, may be IN them, and I in them.” (17:26) Christ alone is our love, to know, and to live.
Dear Father, “Love through us Love of God,” that they world may truly know Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad