Much obedience, much one can love

Preamble: This article will be preached as a sermon in a Divine Healing Fellowship Meeting/Service.  Although it is a sermon, it flows as a complete article.  The grey-highlighted portions may be NOT be preached due to constraint of time; and if you are using this article as a sermon, please take note that this particular sermon will be long (up to 40 mins).  I tried hard to cut short, but I felt the things said here are all so very important, not just in relation to the series that I am covering, but as core belief, and so, I decided NOT to cut any further.  If you are NOT doing a series, you could just preach it as exposition of the 3 verses of John (John 14:15, 21 & 15:10), in which case, you can drop some of the more outlying issues, making the sermon shorter.

This is a continuation of a series on the secret to well-being of a believer. 

First, the “secret” is: we loving God.

But many could NOT get to the place of loving God (and, men, too). How do we get there?

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We have covered two of three channels to get our love capacity restored.  We have covered these two:

1.   The channel of receipt of forgiveness.  Much one isforgiven, much one can love; this, being gleaned from the Luke 7:36-48 – the account of the sinful woman at Simon’s house.

2.   The channel of receipt of grace and mercy. Much grace and mercy experienced and received in, much one can love; this being gleaned from Acts 9:1-20 - the account of The Road to Damascus, the story of the conversion of Saul (aka Apostle Paul).

Today, we will cover the third channel. Much one obeys God, much one is loving God, and is being restored of his capacity to love.

This channel can be gleaned from the words of Jesus, in John 14:15 & 21 & John 15:10.

John 14:15 - “If you love me, keep my commands

John 14:21 – Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.

Together, we can say it reads as “The one who loves me obeys my commands, and the one who obeys my commands is the one who loves me”.

John 15:10 - If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

But does the above imply, if we obey, our capacity to love God (and men, too), will be enlarged or restored? 

Without doubt, John 14:15 & 21 together, says if you love God, you obey His commands, and if you obey His commands you are one who loves Him, but is it implied in there, that if you obey His commands your love capacity for God is enlarged?

Firstly, John 15:10’s “remain in His love” means as you obey, God’s love, you would experience, and it would be impacting you and through you. Its key impact on you causes you to acknowledge it (His love) and receive it in.  In other words, obedience will help you, in acknowledging and receiving in, of God’s love.

Overall, it is God’s love changing us, causing us to love Him back, but we don’t say, “Much God loves, much one can love”?  No, we don’t say that, Why? Here are 2 reasons:

1.   The crux of the matter is NOT whether or NOT God loves you, for God does love you and I.  In fact, when we go deep into this subject, you will understand that God’s love for you and I, does NOT go yoyo-ing; God’s love is constant! 

We will NOT go into detailed discussion of this constancy of God’s love; it will take another sermon or preaching; nonetheless, it is still a question of whether you are in the position or positioning yourself to receive, the love of God, that the God’s love is flowing. (Analogy of the Sun and the sunflower).

2.   While God is center-ing (has His focus) on Man, we have a part to play. This posture is critical, so that we are always reminded that the Word must first be considered from the angle of, “What is it that it is telling me (you and I) to do”, and NOT God telling Himself what He must do. 

Can you name the group amongst us, Christian community, that has the inclination on the latter, that God is telling Himself what He must do, although they may deny it?

What is wrong with the phrase, in a nutshell, “Much God loves, much one can love”? 

Yes, it puts the onus on God; that is what is wrong with it.  The pleasing posture, to God is: We take care to do the part we are to do, and God will know how to do the part that is His.

Still, we may ask, “How does the logic go, that our love will grow as a result of us obeying God?” 

We should know this: love grows with knowing God more.  We can say this, “love grows with knowing God more” unreservedly, in the case of God (NOT necessarily so, for the case of men), because God is indeed holy, and God is good, all the time.

In obeying we get to know God more. Yes, in interaction with someone, we get to know him/her more, but in the case of our dealing with God, more often than NOT, it is through obedience that we get to know God more. 

It is NOT God does NOT want to interact in other ways, with us; but it is that His nature-attribute fundamentally is one of holiness.  It is through obedience, we are being made holy and remain holy.  Put it simply, God cannot play with you when you are NOT holy, but when you are holy, He can be “WITH YOU”, playing and all!

So, what about God, that if we know more and more, will help us to love God?  In another way of saying, what spiritual things about God that the Holy Spirit is to give us understanding, to enlarge or restore our love for God?  The answer is the righteousness of God.  Remember, in the above we mentioned, we will love God more on knowing Him more, for He is holy and good; righteousness is got to do with holiness and goodness.

What is the difference between holiness and righteousness?  Short and sharp reply (NOT to make this long) is: righteousness is the manifest of/from holiness.

What is righteousness? 

Again short and sharp, simply, righteousness is about being right.  God being always right; that is what I love about God.  If God is at times right, and at times, wrong, would you love Him, unreservedly; I mean if God sometimes can be evil and wicked (that is wrong, NOT right, and NOT good), would you love Him; would you hold Him in highest honor?  No, I won’t.

Why is it that, righteousness, is key to us, in our capacity to love God? 

Because He is holy, ……. and we, Man, had had the Fall, in the Garden of Eden. Because of the Fall, we have the knowledge of good and evil; that is why. And God knows that.

What is the connection between love and righteousness? It goes all the way back to ancient of times.

You and I must know, when God created Man, He created Man righteous; it has to be, for Gen 1:31 recorded for us, this: “God saw all that He had created, and it was very good”. 

In a moment, I will give you my take of the form of righteousness that Man had, then, which we know he lost it through the Fall; and along with that, men’s capacity to love God was also diminished or impaired. 

In that Fall, we see the first distortion to love – fear; fear crept in (Gen 3:8-10). 

Gen 3:8-10 (NIV84) - 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

How were men righteous before the Fall?

This is my belief and is the reasonable belief – men just tapped on the righteousness of God, for they then did NOT have knowledge of good and evil.  After the Fall, Man no longer just tapped on the righteousness of God.  When Man just tapped on or rode on, the righteousness of God, unquestioning, he was able to love God quite perfectly.

When Man gained the knowledge of good and evil; that was when troubles started; Man began NOT to (just) tap on or ride on, the righteousness of God, unquestioning.  Man began to use the knowledge of good and evil over the riding on, the righteousness of God.

When one just tap on or ride on, the righteousness of God, can he be wrong?  The answer is no; and when he is NOT wrong, could there be punishment?  Again the answer is no; and when there is no punishment, there would NOT be fear, would there?  No. Now, you know why the Apostle John talked about fear in connection with love.

1 John 4:18 reads, There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

What does this mean?

It means, in the matter of love, there is the issue of righteousness.

When righteousness was gone, love got impaired or distorted, fear came in (Gen 3:8-10).  Fear came in because of possible punishment, and punishment is possible when thing is NOT done according to the righteousness of God. 

Who has the perfect love?  God.  God’s love drives out fear?  Because God’s love is love unto righteousness – God loves men unto righteousness.  When you remain in this perfect love of God, you will NOT have fear.  How do you remain in God’s love? Yes, you obeys His commands (John 15:10).

What does it mean by God loves men unto righteousness (‘ahab love)?

It means God can only love you and I, in such a way as to foster greater or maintain, righteousness in us. When you and I still have fear, it means we have NOT been made perfect, yet.  Why?  Because we are NOT practising or living out the righteousness of God.

Do we have to practise or live out the righteousness of God?

Yes, 1 John 3:7 says, “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;” (NASB)

So, I hope we are clear that Man’s love became and was impaired, but NOT God’s. God’s love towards Man is always tied to the righteousness of God, and to His holiness. 

Many believers do NOT know that the love of God towards Man is fundamentally, love unto righteousness (‘ahab love, as revealed in the OT), and Man’s love needs to qualify the righteousness requirement as well.  Because of the Fall, with the loss of righteousness, there is no way Man could love God back, in an acceptable manner unless God deemed the person righteous, and we find that in the OT, there was the concept of God counting out righteousness to men, or deeming certain men righteous.

Finally, the way forward is provided by the Lord, Jesus; and God sent Him to restore the capacity for Man to be righteous, and so, the capacity for Man to love God.

Man broke love (righteousness) and faith, with God in the Garden of Eden; there was just no way Man can love God back ultimately, in an acceptable manner, without the lost righteousness restored; God allowed temporal aberrations, but everything including Man’s love must line up to the holiness of God, ultimately; and Jesus is the means to that.

So, the New Covenant is God’s offer to Man to re-love-covenant with Him.  And so, too, entering into the covenant is just the beginning of our returning to love God.  We must understand God cannot, at the ultimate, loves the unrighteous men, and the latter cannot love God rightly or in acceptable manner.  Until the ultimate, or the end of age, God is longsuffering, accommodating temporal aberrations of many against His very nature – holiness.

Now, knowing what God’s intent is, and what He is trying to do, we cannot just have a once-off loving Him back of mere signing the dotted line on the contract (New Covenant) with Him; we have to, actually be loving and continue to be loving Him, even as we are to continue to submit to Him in His Holy Spirit’s refining work in us, to align us to His righteousness. 

The Holy Spirit’s work is needed because, unlike previously, before the Fall, where Man just tapped on or rode on, the righteousness of God, unquestioning, now, Man has to will to just tap on or ride on, the righteousness of God.  And so, too, Man has to will to love God on a continual basis; and so, my common saying to us all, that love is first, a choice and then a commitment.

It is NOT right to think you are NOT needing to grow in righteousness or holiness, on the excuse of you are already having the (imputed) righteousness of Christ Jesus.

We were impaired of our capacity to love God, from the Fall, firstly; and then, through our own falling into sins, and coming under bondages. 

After you have become a believer, you have to will continually to live righteous or practise righteousness (His righteousness); only by so doing, (that is obeying God or His commands) can you possibly be loving God in an acceptable manner, and when you are so doing (which is living-obedience), over time, you will have, through the help of the Holy Spirit, a greater knowing of God, through greater knowing of His righteousness, and in the process, our capacity to love Him, God, is enlarged.  If you have a life of disobedience, and so, are living unrighteous, it sure would NOT help, in the restoration of your capacity to love God.  When you go down that path, all the 3 channels through which the Spirit of God works, to restore your love for Him, get choked.

Now, Jesus tied it, the obeying of commands to loving Him (John 14:15 & 21), why?  Because His commands reflect His righteousness, without which our love is NOT love, to God.  Jesus was in fact saying, if you want to love Him, you obey His commands.  If you increase your obedience to His commands, you increase your love towards Him.  And when you take all the 3 John verses (above) together, Jesus was also in fact saying, if you love God, you will remain in God’s love (obeying God’s commands=loving Him).  Do you have to love God, continually?  Yes, that’s what John 15:10 is implying – keeping commands, and so, is loving God, is continual affair. Jesus said He did that – kept God’s command until the very end of His life.

What we are to take away with this message, today, is that in practising obedience to God and His commands, the Holy Spirit gets to work on increasing our capacity to love God, through our knowing of God more - more of His righteousness. 

It really isn’t difficult to perceive, if we just think of the situation of a child, of he is NOT going to grow into one who is loving his father, if he was NOT practising obedience to his father’s instructions, bit by bit, over time. 

Such a child, can he ever come to be loving his earthly father, nonetheless?  Can, usually only after he has gone through one or all of the channels we have covered in this series. 

Any shortcut?  Yes, but that goes into the subject of sovereignty and prerogative of God.  Such sovereignty and prerogative are His business NOT ours; rather we are to be of this pleasing posture: We take care to do the part we are to do, and God will know how to do the part that is His. We leave God to His sovereignty and prerogative.

I hope you are convinced that you have to practice obedience to God if you want to increase your readiness to love God. If you have been disobedient, you need to work through channel 1 again – be in receipt of forgiveness.

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Anthony Chia, high.expressions

Comments are welcome here. Alternatively, email them to me @: high.expressions@gmail.com.  Do follow this blog site. To go back to blog main page, click here.  

Much obedience much one can love (one page sermon note)

(By Anthony Chia on 27/06/2015 at TradeHub 21)

John 14:15, 21, John 15:10

Loving God=obeying God, & so, the importance of obedience in love. 

In obeying God, the HS could work on us in enlarging our capacity to love God, because in obeying we get to know God more and more. 

What do we get to know? His righteousness. Righteousness is the manifest of His holiness. Righteousness is God being right & good, all the time. 

Obedience is about righteousness, being about, being in agreement with God as to what is to be done & when it is to be done, & actually doing it.

Loving God=obeying God’s commands à connection between love & righteousness, consistent with ‘ahab love (love unto righteousness).  The love of God is dictated by the very fundamental nature of God, holiness.  That is why the love of God for men is love unto righteousness. And you cannot love Him back, unless you are loving Him back in righteousness.

Original righteousness of Man – the righteousness without the knowledge of good & evil, righteousness that just tapped on or rode on, the righteousness of God.

The Fall – Man lost his righteousness, with disobedience, & knowledge of good and evil; Man’s capacity to love was diminished or impaired from it.

God’s solution to right the inability of Man to love God back in acceptable manner - Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Entering into salvation is just the beginning.  We need to live righteous, just as He was righteous, in order to love God back, and be restored of our capacity to love Him, more and more.

We need to continue to obey God to continue in our journey of being restored of our capacity to love God (and men, too).

If we want to love God, we need to live a life of obedience.  So that we remain in His love, that it may be well for us, & we may bear fruit.

We need to repent, confess, & be determined to live in obedience to Him, hereafter (if we sin, we have to come into receiving forgiveness, again [practise 1 John 1:9] – what the first channel was about.

We have to keep letting the 3 channels work on us, in our journey.

I hope you are convinced that you have to practice obedience to God if you want to increase your readiness to love God.

Anthony Chia, high.expressions

Comments are welcome here. Alternatively, email them to me @: high.expressions@gmail.com.  Do follow this blog site. To go back to blog main page, click here.  

Please, you have to continue to love God

We often hear preachers telling us that God loves us. In fact, often when I ask people what is the most important thing to remember concerning God in relation to us, the answer is “God loves us.” Is that wrong? No, indeed God loves us. But do you know that you and I have to love Him back AND continue to love Him. Preachers, if they do mention it, they often only mention it as a “by the way” kind of thing. People are NOT stressing it, that we MUST love Him back AND continue to love Him.

Are you really saying it is about Him?
People say, “It is all about Him.” Do they really mean what they say? Increasingly it has become merely a lingo of theirs to mask their irresponsibility; typically this comes from such people:

“The Bible is all about God, NOT about you”. By that, they say, it is NOT about what you are required to do, or about anything you can do. It is about God, about God’s love, about God’s faithfulness, about God’s awesomeness, about actions of God. Purportedly, the saying of “You can neither earn or merit” covers it all. There is nothing for you to do, NOT to mention, to think about, for you don’t need to think for Him; it is He thinks, and you will know! You don’t have to think, you will know, and if you know NOT, then why do you do; don’t do. If you think you ought, then, that is works; that is NOT right, for it is NOT about you and your works. It is about God, and so, only His works matter. When you think and you work, you are putting yourself in, and that would NOT be pleasing to God.

No, it is NOT to be like that. If it is all about Him, it means He is the centre of everything; He is the centre of your everything. It means you are required to do everything He requires of you; and it is about you are to please Him with your thoughts and your actions. It is about Him, and so, it is about your love for Him, about your faithfulness towards Him, about your adoration of Him since He is so very awesome; it is about your actions as unto God; NOT it is nothing about you and I.

It merits us to do anything & everything after His thoughts/desires
Sure, we cannot merit His grace, and we definitely did NOT merit His giving of His Son, Jesus Christ to die for us; but all the more, it, His given grace and on-going grace, merit us to do anything and everything after His thoughts or desires or will.

When it is all about God, it does NOT mean we don’t think at all, and when we think, it is NOT necessarily that it implies that we are having the audacity to think for God. If He is the centre of your everything, it is you are to think and pay attention to that which will please Him and do them. Eph 2:10 clearly said that we are to do good works God would like us to do.

You don’t glorify God by just basking away
We are to glorify God. We don’t glorify God by thinking NOT, and doing NOT. We glorify God by thinking and acting in manners that pleases Him.

In the first place, Man was NOT created inanimate, or for inaction; no, Adam was assigned work; he worked; he looked after the Garden of Eden for God.

The opposite is putting yourself in
You are putting yourself in, when you decide you don’t do that which will please God; and that would be you saying to God, “I will go ahead and do what think I want to do; if you want me to do something else, the onus is on you, God, to tell me”.

If it is all about God, and you are putting God first, then it should be you are to be thinking and doing what pleases God; and you ask Him for “leave to go do something” you would like to do. That is what you would do to your employer - you please your employer, do the things you are supposed to do, thinking and acting for the benefit of the employer; and if you want to do something apart, you ask for leave. But you wouldn’t do that for God, when it is all about Him; you treat Him more worse than your employer? And of course, God is more than just your employer.

“It is finished”. Please explain it rightly.
Who say it is finished? You? Me? No, it was Jesus. Jesus said it was finished for Him; He finished His work; he finished the assignments Father God gave Him. No, it is NOT you and I have no more things to do; purporting that what we need to do is just enjoy ourselves and bask in grace.

No, it is time for us to work. When Jesus finished, we, the believers, take over; NOT the same work of literally be crucified on the Cross, but we, now, are to be the successors of Jesus. In Romans 8:29 we read that for those God gave re-birth (born-again), he also had in mind (wished, desired) that they be transformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ, His Son, that He, Jesus Christ, might be the firstborn among many believers. In other words, we take over as ones whom God would continue to work with.

You need only to look at the example of Jesus
Jesus did NOT just sit there and do nothing, cried, “It is all about you, God. You get your act together; I will just sit here and watch, and bask in your grace!”

No, absolutely; that was NOT what Jesus did. His attitude towards God was NOT like that; rather when it was all about God, for Jesus, Jesus put God in the centre of His life; sinned NOT, meaning he did NOT do anything to displease God; and rather, did everything God had wanted done, even when He had to be persecuted and die that cruel death on the Cross.

Jesus said at the end of His life, “It is finished”, and He went to be with God. Because He, Jesus, did the works assigned, He could say, “It is finished”. So, we who are fruits after the Firstfruit, are we also now doing the works Jesus or God assigned, so that when we are about to breathe our last, we can also say, “It is finished”? Are you doing that?

What did Jesus say He required of us?
Is it “It is finished”, and so, nothing required? No. Among the most important things that Jesus said are: Love the Lord your God with all of you (your heart, mind, soul and strength), and love your neighbours as yourself.

Obvious? Apparently NOT, for some. Does the above tell us to only love God at our entry into salvation, and that would be enough? Was it a one-time thing that we are to love God?

In Luke 10:25-28, before He gave the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus revealed to us what is needed to inherit eternal life? The question asked of Jesus (by a Sadducee) was this: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

It is reasonable to assume, by then, Jesus, knew He would NOT be living on earth for a long, long time; and it is reasonable to assume, He, with His knowledge of the OT, including understanding of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, that He would have, then, knew He would die persecuted (this points to it – Luke 4:1-21). But we did NOT note that Jesus’ reply was, all that people had to do, was to believe and accept Him (Jesus), and NOT reject Him, after His death and resurrection. At this point Jesus still pointed to the laws of God. In Matt 5, we can also read that Jesus said He did NOT come to abolish the laws but to fulfill them.

Jesus actually replied by asking the Sadducee, an expert, in the Law, how he, the Sadducee, understood from the Law; and the Sadducee replied,

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

And Jesus’ reply to that was that the Sadducee answered correctly. Jesus added, “Do this and you will live.” (v28). It is very clear that we have to love God to live. If your common sense still does NOT tell that it is NOT a one-time love of God, any slight knowledge of the OT laws would reveal to us that we cannot just love God once, and then NOT continue to love Him.

NOT “it doesn’t matter it lasts NOT”
There is a WORLDLY Chinese saying about love that translates to: “What matters, is that we once had, it does NOT matter it lasts NOT.”

No, it is NOT like that; we are to love God continually. There is such a thing as “has loved” and “continue to love”. You may have loved, but the call is to continue to love. The love of God is revealed to us, in Scripture, like that, too, apart from Luke 10:25-28, which I have expounded above. Scripture said God “has loved”, so we ought to love Him back.

God “has loved” you when He gave His Son to die for you. If you are a believer, you can be said as “having loved” Him back. You have begun your loving God when you entered into your salvation. The question is, “Is that what it is supposed to be, ‘a one night stand’ (so to speak)?” It is NOT, right? What is your expectation? Are we NOT expecting God to continue to love you? Sure, we do. The Apostle Paul said, in Romans 8:38-39, that he was convinced that God wants to continue to love us. The overall counsel of the Word reveals to us that God does want to continue to love us.

So you want God to continue to love you
So, you want a relationship with God? And you want God to continue to love you? Don’t you think you and I ought also to continue to love God? In fact, we have to grow our love for God. Surely, the “Love your God with all of you, your heart, mind, soul and strength” is referring NOT, to the one-time act of love, of saying the Sinner’s Prayer on entry into salvation. It is untenable to argue the greatest command of Jesus was a call for a one-time love by us. In this relationship with God, for it, the relationship to operate properly, it requires you and I to continue to love God, even as God continues to love us.

The key way of loving God – obey His commands
Before I give another important text to show further, the “has loved” and “continue to love”, let me give us the key way of loving God. When I ask people, “How does one love God?” Often the answer is “Love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength”. But that really does NOT say HOW we love! You see, if you and I are saying, “It is all about God”, then we ought to be looking at how God defines “loving Him”.

Jesus defined loving God or Him (Jesus) this way: Those who love me, obeys my commands (John 14:15), and those who obey my commands are the ones who love me (John 14:21a).

So, as a believer, you “have loved” God. At your entry into salvation, God said, “Accept my Son, Jesus, who has died for you”, and you have obeyed – you have loved (you accepted, as commanded). Likewise, you continue to love God when you continue to obey His commands. When you refuse to obey His commands, what does it tell on your love for God? The answer is obvious.

Here is the text of Jesus presenting us the “has loved” and “continue to love”, with the obeying God’s commands thrown in, as the key way of loving God:

John 15:9-11 - 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 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. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

The above clearly says that God has loved you, and to remain in His love, we need to obey His commands (as THE way of loving Him). Jesus said He was subjected to the same, and likewise it is applicable to us. Jesus said He told us this, so that when we do it, i.e. love Him by obeying His commands, His joy (Jesus’ joy) may be in us, and that our joy may be complete. In other words, Jesus was saying, our joy will be complete when His joy enters us; and His joy enters us when we love Him by obeying His commands. Here is a little secret for you – to NOT lose peace and joy, don’t disobey His commands.

Are you saying God’s love is NOT unconditional?
Brother Anthony, are you then saying that God’s love is conditional? Yes, but please let me explain.

My understanding is that the Greek word, “agape” used as the “love” word in the New Testament (NT), was NOT originally bearing the meaning of “unconditional love”; it was more pointing to true love, as opposed to sexual/sensual love (eros), brotherly love, like friendship (philia), and natural love, like mother for her child (storge); it was more of a sacrificial love, like dying for another, like what Jesus did, died for us. It has element of without undue demand, but it is NOT really completely unconditional. For example, the love shown by one on the street, seeing a beggar weak from hunger, and giving his/her own lunch pack over, can be said as agape love. This love does NOT demand anything from the beggar - NOT that the beggar must do some “trick” to amuse the person before the food is given. The person sacrifices his/her own lunch. It does appear unconditional in this case, but it does NOT mean that agape love is completely unconditional.

Sacrificial and without undue demand
The modern use of the Greek word may have forced it to mean unconditional love, through usage, but, as far as I have looked at the subject, it was NOT with that intent of being totally unconditional. God’s love or Jesus’ love is sacrificial, and may appear totally unconditional, but God’s love is NOT totally unconditional.

To fully explain this, will require another article, but it suffices to state that God’s love for men is love unto righteousness (`ahab love). And the righteousness of God is the outworking of the holiness of God and His wisdom (principally). In other words, the love of God for men is subjugated to His holiness. In practical terms, it means, ultimately God cannot love you and I, unrighteously, or in contradiction to His holiness. There is a condition to God’s love for men, and that condition, which is applicable for all things, is that it must satisfy the demand of God’s holiness. The demand of holiness is NOT undue demand.

You have to embrace His holiness, and so, you have to obey
We have to obey God’s commands, for they flow from the righteousness and justice of God which in turn, is the outworking of God’s holiness and wisdom. We have to love God for who He is, and He is goodness absolute or holiness. We cannot love God unless we embrace His holiness, and that is why THE way of loving God has to be obeying His commands.

God is ever-ready (to love) but we have to align in
Now, when Jesus said that we have to do such (obey His commands, as loving Him) to remain in His love, it is meant to say that God is ever-ready to love you and I, and He has loved with that love, only that we have to align in.

The best way I can put it, is a parable of the light. It beams forth, but we have to align into the path of the light-beam to receive it.

Assured, most assuredly, for those who love Him
I cannot stress enough that there are so many significant verses in Scripture that tells us that the goodness/blessing/favour of God is assured, most assuredly, for those who love Him.

Ps 91 which have many of the beautiful and powerful promises of God for protection and well-being, it is assured, most assuredly, for those who love God; Ps 91:14-15 tell us so:

14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

Romans 8:28, commonly quoted to comfort believers in stressful trouble, it too, is assured, most assuredly, for those who love God; it is written right there in the verse, “…. for the good of those who love God…”

James 1:14 - Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Now, even in the OT, we can see the same thing portrayed; we can see this in the opening line of Nehemiah’s Prayer (Neh 1:5-11) - “LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments

Continue to love Him by obeying His commands
Today, realize the secret to our Christian well-being is to love God. I have already, in this article, said THE way to love God, is to obey His commands. Of course, we can break it up, and expound further, how we can love God, and perhaps, I will do that in another article, but ultimately it still comes back to obeying Him/His commands. So, now, love God by obeying His commands. You have loved God? You still have to CONTINUE to do that.


Anthony Chia, high.expressions – Loving God is the secret to our Christian well-being.

PS: Those wanting to read an exposition of Ps 91, can go here: “Secret of our well-being – Ps 91”

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