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Scripture Reading: Rom. 8:35-39; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Eph. 3:14-19
These three passages have one identical phrase, which is "the love of Christ." The Bible mentions the love of Christ many times, but only in these three cases does it specifically use this phrase. The rest of the time it speaks of the love of God. Strictly speaking, the love of Christ is the love of God. For example, in Romans 8:35 it says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" while in verse 39 it concludes, "Nor...will be able to separate us from the love of God." Thus we see the love of Christ and the love of God are one and the same. What I am going to speak about today is Christ's love towards three types of people.
Every believer in this world has his unique experience, unique difficulty, and unique environment. Paul was saying that whatever problem we may have, the answer is always the love of Christ. Even if we have a hundred different kinds of difficulties, the solution is still the love of Christ. Some believers may encounter tribulation, some believers may be in anguish, others may encounter persecution, and still others, famine. Even if nakedness, peril, sword, etc. all come, they still cannot separate us from the love of Christ because the love of Christ can deal with all kinds of situations. Do we realize that after many people are captured by the love of Christ, they are able to pass through what other people cannot pass through?
A widow may live in great difficulty because of her husband's death. She may be unable to pay rent, and her possessions may be pawned. Under such circumstances, however, she still can keep her smile. When does she smile? When she looks at her child of less than one year in age, she smiles. The reason for her smile is love.
I really treasure the word in Romans 8:37 that "in all these things we more than conquer"! We more than conquer in all these things, not out of all these things. If all these things did not happen, there would be no need to overcome. Many people think if there is no tribulation, anguish, or persecution, etc., they can overcome. But the Word of God says, "In all these things we more than conquer." It is the love of Christ that enables us to overcome all the tribulation, anguish, persecution, famine, and danger. The love of Christ is a power which enables us to overcome all these things. All of these are bitter, but because we have tasted the love of Christ, we do not feel bitter about them anymore.
This love of Christ is for those who are servants, those who serve the Lord. "For the love of Christ constrains us" (v. 14). Constrains in the original text means something washed away by the torrent of water. This is the meaning here. The love of Christ carries us away like one being carried away by the power of water. David Livingstone said if someone could go to Africa for the slave business, would the love of Christ not be strong enough to constrain another to go to Africa? For that reason he went. Having been constrained by the love of Christ, he put aside his life, and countless numbers of people obtained life through him. Indeed, only the love of Christ can constrain a person. Love cannot be seen with the eyes. But once a person has tasted the sweetness and beauty of this love, it is impossible for him not to be washed away by its flow.
"We have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised" (vv. 14-15). The love of Christ constrains us because we judge two things. First, if Christ died for all, then we all died. The love of Christ cannot be separated from the death of Christ; the reason for Christ's death is Christ's love. Second, those who live should no longer live to themselves but to the Lord who died and resurrected for them. This is the goal. I cannot help but live for Him because the love of Christ constrains me. I cannot hold onto my own standing anymore.
So many times we feel that it is so difficult to testify to a sinner. It seems that we blush before we even utter anything. When I was first saved, I wanted to testify to a classmate; but when I approached him, it was so difficult to open my mouth. I went to him again and again, and every time I found myself reluctant to open my mouth to speak of Jesus. But when we are constrained by the love of Christ, we cannot help but testify. If we could choose, we would rather choose not to testify. But when we are constrained by the love of Christ, we cannot help but testify. Praise the Lord, His love constrains us.
Many times, we find that preaching the gospel is not an easy thing. Famine and persecution are unavoidable. I have had the experience of being threatened with a pistol not to preach Jesus any more. I would rather stop the mouth of the pistol with my body, but I cannot stop speaking about Christ. His love carries me away. I always urge young believers to consecrate themselves to the Lord. This is because He loves us. A number of brothers ask me what they should do in order to be a full-time evangelist. Unless we have to, it is better not to be a full-time preacher. Unless we have the feeling of "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:16), it is better that we not try to be a full-time preacher. Only when we find Him irresistible will others find Him irresistible. Those who preach the gospel must do so through the constraining of Christ's love. I am not exhorting everyone to be a full-time preacher. However, every believer should testify. Brothers and sisters, have you ever told anyone of the love of Christ? Have you ever felt the love of God burning like a fire within you to the extent that you cannot help but speak of His love? Brothers and sisters! May the love of Christ fill us and constrain us today.
Ephesians 3:14-19: "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father...that Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are and to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God." Here the love of Christ is for those who are like students. Paul was a very learned man. Would Paul make a grammatical mistake and write poorly? Those who have read the original text of the New Testament agree that all the letters Paul wrote used complicated and difficult grammar. But in Ephesians 3, when he spoke of the love of Christ, Paul's grammar was wrong; his writing was not proper Greek. After writing the phrase, "apprehend with all the saints," he stopped. All of a sudden, he wrote these four words: "the breadth and length and height and depth." It seems that there is no connection between the previous text and the following text. Brothers and sisters, this is the real condition of one who speaks of the love of Christ. When Paul came to this point, he did not know how to go on, and he shouted, "The breadth! and length! and height! and depth!" He could not describe it. Even if we were to use the best rhetoric to describe the love of Christ, what we comprehend would be very different from what it really is. When we consider the love of Christ, it seems that our mind becomes powerless; we do not know how to describe it.
The word know is the same in meaning as the word apprehend. The love of Christ is incomprehensible, yet at the same time it is very apprehensible. Day after day while we live on earth, we learn a little more of the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ's love. There was a preacher who felt a great pressure once while he was preaching. He wanted to speak, but he could not utter anything. So he requested others to pray for him. While all the people were praying, one black person repeated over and over again, "Precious Jesus!" The preacher heard him praying this way for more than an hour. Later, the preacher said, "I have nothing to preach today, but I heard one sentence from a prayer: `Precious Jesus!'"
Because of the constraining of Christ's love, we love Him though we have not seen Him. Because we believe in Him, we know that He is precious.
