With the Love That He Received From the Father

2007-05-19 20:21

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love." (John 15:9-10).

Love is between father and son, not between master and slave. When the Father begets a son, love begins. And love is not one-sided. Love begins from the Father who begets a son, but it is completed by the son when he loves his brothers who are like him as the Father has loved him. Only such sons can remain together in the Father's love.

Therefore, the Bible says about the relationship between the Father and the Son, "For to which of the angels did He ever say: 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You'? And again: 'I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son'?" (Hebrews 1:5).

In the passage above, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You' is not the end, but 'I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son' is the end.

If love is finished only by receiving it, such love is not perfect love but deformed and tragic love. The Bible says about it, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14).

The Father wants the Son to be like Him. If a son is not like Him, he is not His son, but his enemy. The Bible warns about the son who is not like the Father, "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

God has a son who was born according to love, and also a son who was born according to hate. God is God of justice who has nature of blessing and curse, and He is a very stern Father. So the Bible says, "Just as it is written: 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'" (Romans 9:13).

The Bible clearly says about those who are born according to love, the nature of blessing, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (Ephesians 1:4-6).

The Bible says about the children of love, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16). And also, "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:16).

Therefore, salvation begins with receiving love and is finished with giving the love received. So it is written, "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:30). Here the salvation was finished.

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death." (1 John 3:14). Amen. Thank you, Lord.