As we are growing up in the love of God, we are in fact also growing up in God’s Word unto spiritual maturity. But there are Christians who are rich in the Word of God at heart, but without the manifestation of His love to show for it. Such believers can never grow up into spiritual maturity with God, until they start applying God’s Word by faith into their personal spiritual lives so as to start walking in love with it (Galatians 5:6). The word of God in their lives has in fact become of no effect, because it is not being mixed with faith.
Faith is the force that drives our ability to walk in love (Galatians 5:6). But if anyone wants to grow up in faith, then the person needs to be open first to walking in love. When we walk in love, our faith grows and gets stronger. We cannot love without faith, and our faith can’t grow either if we are not walking in love. A believer who is not walking in love, is the believer who chases every wind of doctrine about, but he never grows with anyone of them. Christian doctrines works in our lives where we are using our faith to walk in love.
It is pathetic to see people pray to God to make them strong in faith, when they are in fact not sowing the seed of faith into their hearts at all. Faith can’t grow without the seed of God’s word (Romans 10:17). What they actually need to be doing as they feed on God’s word daily, is to keep an eye on their love walk. When we are walking in the love of God, while sowing the seed of God’s word in our hearts, then our faith grows faster and stronger.
The most important fruit of God’s word in our lives is His love. All other spiritual fruit and gifts are connected with God’s love working inside of our hearts.
THE LOVE OF GOD COMPELS US
Many of the Churches that were often referred to by Paul in most of his writings, were full of born again believers who spoke in tongues, but were still carnal minded. We can observe him in these writings rebuking them for forgetting, who they were in Christ Jesus. The problems in the churches during the time of Paul, are still present with us today within the body of Christ.
These writings of Paul are evidence to us today that, it is possible for Christians to be carnally minded. This means that the carnal minded believers are born of the Spirit of God, but they have not yet been able to renew their minds with God’s word, so as to be living their lives for Christ. Without the workings of the love of God in our hearts, we cannot make spiritual progress in life.
The love of God works through our hearts to make us grow in spiritual perception. Our ability to perceive spiritual truth becomes shaper, through the workings of the love of God in us, as we become doers of His Word and not just hearers alone.
Our hearts becomes more and more established in love, as we practice the word of God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit then begins to flow through our hearts, in the manifestation of God’s love.
This process of the development in the human spirit, was once described by the Prophet Isaiah when he prophesied about Christ.
He said:
“For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.”
Isaiah 50:7 NKJV
The Holy Spirit will always help us, just as He helped Jesus on the inner man in the development of His human spirit as the Son of man. Jesus’ heart was set as a flint in following the will of the Father. His spiritual perception of what was going on in His world was strong, as the love of God helped Him in discerning and following God’s goals in His life.
Christ declares to those who loves Him:
“At that time [when that day comes] you will know [for yourselves] that I am in My Father, and you [are] in Me, and I [am] in you. The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]”
John 14:20-21 AMPC
If we say we love Jesus, we will keep His commands. We know God, the Father because we do know Jesus. His love is real to us as we follow his commands to us. Jesus declares here that He will make Himself real to those who love Him, and are steadfast in keeping His commands.
There is only one way that Jesus has been made real to us today. He reveals Himself to us by the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of us. The manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, as we fall daily in love with Jesus.
It is the love of God, the Father that helped Jesus in bearing spiritual fruit on earth, and His love is what drives us also in bearing fruit.
Paul told the Church at Corinth about how the love of God works through our hearts:
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”
2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV
We are compelled and motivated by the love of Christ, to do whatever we are doing now in His Kingdom. The love of Christ should always be the motivation for everything being done in God’s Kingdom.
I do remember someone asking me sometimes ago, about why we are preaching the gospel to the lost. The man claimed to be a Christian, but he does not apparently know the reason for which Christ apprehended him. I had to explain the gospel to him again, so that he could understand that Christ came and died primarily for the sinners. He did not come and died for the self righteous, or for those who are already saved. If anyone is saved, Christ expects that saved person to go after those who are still living in their sins, and help them in experiencing the same joy of salvation which he or she is enjoying. It is the love of Christ which we had experienced in our lives, that compels us as His love working inside us, gives us the desire to save those who are lost. Nobody can ever give what had never been lived or experienced before. It is from our own personal shared experiences with Christ, that we are compelled to win the lost.
Most importantly I remember telling this young man, that the love of God is what compels us to be doing, what we as a ministry are doing in the kingdom of God. We do not agree with those who think that Christians, who share the love of God to the lost on the streets are out of their minds. A sinner might have heard about Jesus before; but that sinner still needs to be given the opportunity to hear the gospel over and over again. God will never give up on the sinner. No, it is not in the nature of God to leave any sinner in the hands of the devil. But if one has never experienced the love of God before, then that person has nothing to share with the lost that is real.
It is God’s love that compels us to go into all the nations, preaching the good news of salvation, praying for the healing of the nations and the sick, setting the captives free from the bondages of the devil, and taking care of the needs of the widows, orphans and the needy. God’s love will always compel you to do great things in His Kingdom. And you maybe thinking how you can do that. It is simply done by faith which works in the love of Christ. Do you love Christ? Then that love will compel you to do anything for God, in your local Church and your community.
If you had ever fallen in love with Jesus, your love for Him will cause you to get out of your comfort zone, and start doing something in the kingdom of God, because you know that you are loved of God. This is how powerful the love of God is. God’s love will always compel you to love others who are naturally unlovable, with the love that you have experienced in your life.
Our spiritual perception therefore starts getting stronger and stronger, as we set our “face like a flint” on the love of Christ. The initial sign of our spiritual development is in the manifestation of that love of God, as the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us (Galatians 5:22).
But it is also very important for us to never forget, who we are in Christ Jesus. This is the key in opening up our hearts, so as to grow up spiritually in the things of God.
There are many believers today who are living their Christian lives, out of the ignorance of who they really are in Christ Jesus. They are unable to walk in that reality, so as to be able to possess their inheritances in Christ Jesus. Salvation is not the only inheritance of a believer. Healing, joy, peace, righteous living, good health, prosperity and the list is very long; are all inheritances that belongs to any child of God.
As we feed regularly on the revelation of who we are in Christ Jesus from the word of God, we will grow up into spiritual maturity in the realities of those spiritual truths of who we really are, and of what belongs to us in the Kingdom of God. We will then be able to start applying the promises of God to us concerning those inheritances, in taking hold of what actually belongs to us here on earth, by faith which works in love.
LOVING JESUS AND HIS WORD INTO SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
As we fall more and more in love with Jesus, the depth of our knowledge of the things that belongs to us in the kingdom of God begins to grow also. We become more enlightened about many things. It is the depth of our love for Jesus, that brings the insight of the knowledge that we need to be victorious to us.
Paul wrote these words to the Church at Philippi as he prayed for them. He said:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
Philippians 1:9-11 NIV
We bear spiritual fruit to His glory, as we begin to comprehend who we are in Christ Jesus. But the knowledge of that word of God in us, with which we overcome by faith, is dependent on our ability to discern the truth in it that we really need in overcoming. This demands our time and attention. It is the truth that we’ve experienced that sets us free. Being able to be taught or study the word of God is very important for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to manifest in our lives. Our spiritual growth with the knowledge of God’s truth is very important.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians in explaining to them, how the gifts of the Holy Spirit can work in the manifestation of God’s love as the word of God is being ministered through God’s gifts to the Church.
He said:
“And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct], [and He did this] to fully equip and perfect the saints (God’s people) for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church]; until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity]. So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit]. But speaking the truth in love [in all things–both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head–Christ.”
EPHESIANS 4:11-15 AMP
The five fold ministries of the Church has a unique role to play, not only in the edification of the Church with the word of God. But also the five fold ministries helps the Church to grow deeply rooted in the love of God.
As believers in Christ Jesus we grow up into spiritual maturity, as we learn to speak the truth in the love of God with one another. We grow up in love by practicing love. It is just as we grow up in faith by practicing faith.
Now faith only works in the manifestation of what we believe, as long as we are walking in the love of God. But faith can also be impacted into our lives, through the application or the ministration of the word of God by those in the five fold ministries.
As an example, a Preacher is an encourager. He motivates us into doing or acting on the word of God. Someone in the office of a Prophet not only prophecies, but he or she can also motivate us into doing what that word of prophecy says to us.
But spiritual growth does not come by just encouraging the believer. The believer needs to be taught and instructed, on how to practically become a doer of the word of God. This is why the teacher’s role in spiritual growth is very crucial; but a Bible Teacher can only do this in love. A Preacher may preach for spiritual encouragement, but the word of God needs to be taught, for the believer to be able to practice what the word says in love.
For the ministry of the teacher therefore to become effective, an open and teachable spirit on the part of the believer, that is being taught or instructed is very important. There are many carnal believers within the body of Christ, who are not teachable at all. These are often critical of the ministries of the Apostle, teacher, Pastor, evangelist or Prophet. And because they walk around with a critical spirit, they can never grow up in the love of God.
Jude pointed out such believers when he said:
“These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.”
Jude 1:12-13 NIV
Our Christian life need not be like the “clouds without rain”. These carnal believers are unable to bear any spiritual fruit in the kingdom of God. They often talk about loving God, but without the manifested love of God to show for it. They love to just sit on the pews and to listen to others with the aim of finding fault in them. They are more interested in the social life of the Church, than in the spirituality within the Church. They can’t do anything to touch other lives, apart from engaging in gossips. They will never witness to get the lost saved, because of the carnal mind in them.
The pleasure of this world is more important to them, than the word of God or their depth of the love for God. Many of them really want to love God more, but their clinging relationship with the unsaved world won’t let them. This is why their spiritual life is fruitless – like “the clouds without rain”.
UNITY WITHIN THE CHURCH ENABLES US TO GROW IN LOVE
Those who think that they do know it all, have never really known anything yet. The Spirit of love in us as Christians does not ever create division within the body of Christ. The Spirit of love always works to bring us together in the bond of peace with one another, as we follow the pattern of Christ (Ephesians 4:3; Colossians 3:14).
Paul told the Church at Philippi:
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Philippians 2:1-4 NIV
When we walk in love towards one another, then we are able to encourage one another in fulfilling the commandment of God. We are able to achieve so much for the kingdom of God as we walk in the Christian love with one another. We are stronger when we are together.
Paul told the Romans:
“The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
Romans 13:9-12 NIV
When we are walking in love towards one another, we are walking in the light of God. He shines through us as we walk in love. A carnal believer cannot do this. When we are walking in love, we are obeying all of the commandments of God. Love compels us to minister salvation to the lost, to pray for the sick, to help those who are still in the darkness or the bondages of the enemy.
Is it not strange when believers will rather want to fellowship, and hang out with those who they know that they can help? It’s strange when we cook food to feed the homeless; instead of going further in teaching them, how to work in getting the food for themselves. It is strange when we know that we can lay our hands on the sick in the name of Jesus, and see them recover. But then we’ll rather just be the Job comforter to them, instead of delivering them from that bondage of sickness.
Yes, these are “the clouds without rain” who were being described above by Jude. They are Christians who are blown along by the wind, but who are never being established in the love of God. Even though they do like to hang around those who do always walk in love; but they are really not interested in bearing any spiritual fruit. Jude was telling us to be very careful of believers like these. They can do more harm than good to your love walk. Guard your heart because they are all around you; but never forget that your redemption is closer than ever before. Maranatha!
