How the Saint’s Obligation to Love is Fulfilled by the Holy Spirit
God is eternal (Dt 33:27; Heb 9:14). He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). This is why the Bible refers to His unchanging love (Mic 7:18, 20) — a love which endures forever.
God has many attributes. For instance, God is true (Rom 3:4), so that when God sent His only begotten Son into the world, He (Jesus) identified Himself as the truth (Jn 14:6). A second example is that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness (1 Jn 1:5). Again, Jesus identified Himself as the “Light of the world” (Jn 8:12). He is the Light that has come into the world (Jn 3:19).
The example attribute profiled here will be the Apostle John’s statement, “God is love (1 Jn 4:8).” God is not only love, as some portray Him, today. All of God’s attributes, so closely linked to His Person must be considered complete and perfect. Some misinterpret the Apostle Paul’s statement in 1 Cor 13:13, “…faith, hope, and love but the greatest of these is love,” to mean that love is the greatest attribute of God. There is simply no justification for pitting the divine attribute of love against the other divine attributes. They function together in perfect harmony.
The Trinity lives in perfect harmony because they love one Another with perfect love. The attributes of love itself can be reviewed by simply reading 1 Corinthians 13. Unpacking “love” in this chapter actually gives us a better understanding of what God is like. Also, this is most clearly seen in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, the perfect God-man. When we see Jesus on the pages of the Bible, He is showing us God the Father and what He is like (Jn 14:9), for Jesus is the icon of God His Father (Col 1:15).
Love is not just a passive identification of God; it is active in all Three Persons of the Godhead. Before the foundation of the world, in covenant love, God the Father chose a beloved people for His own possession (Eph 1:5; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 2:9). God’s motive, in choosing this select remnant from every nation, tribe, and tongue (Rom 9:6; Rev 5:9; 7:9) was to incorporate these into Himself that they would become partakers in His divine nature (2 Pet 1:4). This is called, “God’s electing love.”
God’s love remained active toward this remnant elect from every nation of the world, when He sent His only begotten Son into the world (Jn 3:16), to save His people from their sins (Mt 1:21). While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly elect (Rom 5:8). In love, He gave His life for His bride, the church, His body of people (Eph 5:23, 25). He laid down His life for His own sheep (Jn 10:11, 15), who were lost in the darkness of sin. We were slaves to sin (Rom 6:6, 16–20) like the Israelites were slaves in Egypt (Exodus).
All during His life, a sinless life (Heb 4:15), Jesus was perfectly fulfilling the requirements of the Law of God (Mt 5:17; Lk 24:44). His obedience to all His Father commanded was a demonstration of His love to the Father, who said in a voice from heaven, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (Mt 3:17; 17:5).”
In teaching His disciples, Jesus said to them, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (Jn 13:34; 14:15, 21).” Seeing that obedience to all God commanded is a practical demonstration of love (Ex 20:6; Dan 9:4). We immediately see the deficiency of all people in not loving God. God’s Law spells out our love obligation in great detail, but to Moses, God gave a summary of the Law, in the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1–17; Dt 5:1–21).
Even with the summary points of the Law, our failure to love God (I. to IV.) and love our neighbor (V. to X.) is easily confessed as sin (Jas 2:10). We have all fallen short of the glory of our holy God (Rom 3:23), by failing to obey His commandments.
When Jesus further summarized the Law and the prophets into, “Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22:36–40),” there was no relief for sinners or saints. We simply cannot love God, by way of obedient works done in the flesh. God knows absolutely everything, and He knows this about us. We need a Savior, just as God had planned (Acts 2:23).
In order to apply the Father’s electing love and Christ’s redemptive love (Rom 5:8), they both sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of the beloved (Jn 14:26; 15:26; Rom 5:5). God is Spirit (Jn 4:24), and God is love (1 Jn 4:8), and His Spirit has come to indwell us (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11; Jas 4:5), His chosen people, with the Spirit of love (Jn 3:1–8). We have the love of God poured out in our hearts (Rom 5:5), even as we have the light of truth shining there (2 Cor 4:6). In fact, every attribute of our eternal God is now in the recipients of the Spirit (1 Pet 1:3). This is the life of God in the soul of men.
The life Christians now live, with the life of God in them, is a life of faith that has been given to them by the Spirit (Gal 2:20). This abundant (Jn 10:10) and eternal life (Jn 6:27; 17:3) includes the love of God from the heart. As the Christian walks in faith, by walking in the Spirit (Eph 5:25), He walks in love for God and for His neighbor (Eph 5:2) because it is God who is willing and working His good pleasure in each believer in Jesus (Phil 2:13). God’s work of covenant love, to save His people, is called “Grace.”
Today, faith and hope are the proof that the love of God is indwelling the saint. God has not finished His perfect work in us, but we have a hope and a promise that He who chose us (Titus 2:13), He who redeemed us (Rom 3:24; 1 Cor 1:30), and He who made us alive, will complete the work He began in us (Eph 2:5; Phil 1:6; Col 2:13). When love is perfected, faith and hope will no longer be necessary (1 Cor 13:13). His love endures forever (1 Kgs 10:9; 2 Chron 9:8), which is why it is greater than temporal faith and hope.
On that day, recipients of God’s love will be full partakers of that divine natural attribute. Perfect love will be love perfected in us. We will love God and love one another, as we should, and as He does.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
October 29, 2022
