Compelling Love

Paul concludes his second epistle to the believers in Corinth with three precious blessings:

2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Through communion with the Holy Spirit who lives in us, we can see and know the grace, love and glory of God through Jesus Christ. 1 John 5:7 declares the unity of the Father, the Son (the Word) and the Holy Spirit.

1 John 5:7
For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

The preamble to John’s gospel declares that the eternal Word of God “became flesh and dwelt among us”, full of grace and truth”.

John 1
The Eternal Word
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The Word Becomes Flesh
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
¹⁶ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Grace, mercy, truth and love have met together in Jesus Christ, as portrayed in Psalm 85 and described in 2 John 1:3.

Psalm 85
¹⁰ Mercy and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed.
¹¹ Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
¹² Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
¹³ Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.

2 John 1:3
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

The life, ministry, atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ supremely demonstrate God’s love for all people.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 5
⁶ For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Through communion with the Holy Spirit who lives in us, we can enjoy the close walk with God promised by Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30. 

Matthew 11
²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

In Matthew 20, Jesus announced his coming death and resurrection.

Matthew 20 (NKJV)
¹⁷ Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

In John 14, Jesus promised to send the disciples another Helper, the Spirit of truth, assuring them in verse 18, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” In John 16, he promises the Holy Spirit will guide them into all truth.

John 16:13 (NKJV)
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

In John 17, just before the culminating events of his life on earth, Jesus prays for God to be glorified, and for believers to see and know his love and his glory. This is our eternal inheritance as believers in Jesus Christ.

John 17 (NKJV)
Jesus Prays for Himself
¹ Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴ I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Jesus Prays for All Believers
²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

David Krause, dhkrause2@gmail.com, https://compellinglove.net/