The Nature Of Love

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #131q Re-Written 13JAN09 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

Save Me Today—Part Seventeen: The Nature Of Love

by rev dave c

God’s will for humanity is summed up in Genesis 1:26 when He says, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” In His image, our triune God created us trichotomous; i.e., we are mind, body, and spirit. Fundamental to our being created, Isaiah tells us that God gives us life (38:16), God loves us (42:4), and He created us to love Him (38:19). As to His likeness, John the Beloved provides us three attributes of God’s eternal nature: God is Logos/the Word (Jn 1:1 & 1Jn 1:1), God is Light/illumination (Jn 1: 4-5 & 1Jn 1:5), and God is Love/relationships (1Jn 4:8&16). In His likeness, we are given to varying degree the ability to communicate, to discern, and to love. Pertinent to this tripartite “ability to love,” we are instructed by Jesus in “The Great Commandment” (Mt 22:36-40) and “The New Commandment” (Jn 13:34) to Love God with our whole person, Love Our Neighbors as we love ourselves, and Love One Another as Jesus has loved us.

The New Testament teaches us that Jesus is our Almighty Creator (Jn 1:4, Co 1:16. & He 1:2); He is our Faithful Sustainer (Co 1:17 & He 1:3); and He is our Righteous Lord (Ro 10:9/1Co 12:3). Related to this last, Isaiah tells us in 33:22, “...The LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.” The word “save” in this verse is from a very important primitive Hebrew root. *Originally “yasha” (#3467) meant “to be open, wide, or free” in the sense that as there is plenty of room in which to move, a person feels safe and secure. Initially “yasha” referred primarily to physical deliverance, but it eventually came to have psychological and theological overtones. From the opening of time in Genesis 1:1, to its closing in the Book of the Revelation, God’s will for His people is that they be made free physically, mentally, and spiritually—God is able to save us from any and all chains that bind us. Fittingly, “Jesus,” the personal name of our Savior, is derived from this Hebrew root.

In spite of contemporary claims to the contrary, the government of the United States of America is obviously, and Constitutionally, established upon the Isaiah 33:22 triadic model by having a Legislative Branch (“our lawgiver”), a Judicial Branch (“our judge”), and an ExecutiveBranch (“our king”). Unlike any Earthly government, however, Christians have in the singularity of Jesus Christ the personal embodiment of all three pillars for a life of real wisdom, freedom, and effectiveness in the knowledge that He is also our Loving Savior (“it is He who will save us”)—now, and for eternity.

During any discussion of “human freedom” we must remember that God’s will for His creation is absolute and sovereign—it is inviolable. To believe otherwise is to create a god after our own likeness. That said, an aspect of God’s will for us is His granting each individual a free will (volition) that is limited by time and space. This ability to decide was given us that we might choose to return God’s love through obedience to His commands (Jn 14:15)—or to reject Him through our disobedience. That said, there are three primary facets to consider pertaining to the nature of God’s will. Within His Preceptive Will (life as it should be; i.e., God’s commandments), Jesus (Logos/the Word) is our Lawgiver, but He is also our Teacher (Jn 3:2). Within His Permissive Will (life as it can be; i.e., we choose to obey, or disobey), Jesus (the Light) is our Judge, but He is also our Advocate (Jn 17 & He 4:13-16). Within His Decretive Will (life as it “is be”; i.e., the inevitable consequences for our decisions), Jesus (Love) is our King, but He is also our Shepherd (Jn 10:11).

As our Lawgiver, Jesus presents God’s commandments in clear and succinct terms that demand spiritual, rational, and material compliance on our part, or face the eternal consequences—as our Savior/Teacher, He patiently works to soften our hearts and shape our lives into the mold of loving sacrifice that He cast at Golgotha so that we might be obedient Children of the Father. As our Judge, Jesus perfectly weighs our thoughts, words and actions against the scales of God’s holiness—as our Savior/Advocate, He intercedes with the Father on our behalf as He wraps us in His robes of righteousness, and this that we might become His Body and Bride. As our King, Jesus is to rule our heads, our hearts, and our hands; He sustains us, He fights our battles, and He commands our service and our stewardship—as our Savior/Shepherd, He protects us, He nurtures us, He heals us, He trains us, and He brings us His comfort, His peace, and His joy.

To enter into the real freedom of our faith, we must hold Jesus as the object of our love, as well as the subject of our interest—but we must also understand that He is the predication of love, itself. In other words, we must love the living person of Jesus Christ, not just Christian teaching, music, and t-shirts—but we must also recognize that the source of all love is God (1Jn 4:7-12). Freedom is found only in loving obedience to the will of the Father. It is only as we live out the sacrifices commanded by the New Covenant that we initialize, realize, and actualize the substance of love. These sacrifices include Righteous Living (Ro 12:1), Thankful Praise (He 13:15), and Good Deeds (He 13:16). This is the nature of love.

*AMG Publisher’s The Complete Word Study Old Testament (1994), edited by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., p2324