Life in Christ: Having Love for One Another

To have love for one another we must first have love for Christ. Go away this evening knowing that you have nothing to offer anyone in yourself but you have everything to offer in Christ. There is nothing any one of us can say or do to love a person in a real and lasting way. There is only one way to love another person, and that is to love with the love of Jesus.

Over the years I have tried to love and help others and I failed horribly, as long as I was depending on my own understanding or emotion. Before I came to know Jesus as my Savior I tried to love individuals usually by mimicking what I saw others do. What a disaster! In addition, I was incapable of loving my husband or children because of my own upbringing and my self-centered view of life. I could only act loving if my emotions and circumstances allowed it. I had the appearance of love but in fact, I was serving from a motive of pride, hoping for recognition.

In order to truly have love for one another we need confidence, that is confidence properly placed. Not confidence in ourselves or in our gifts or abilities but confidence in the love of Christ. We must always be mindful that to love others we must first love Christ and then allow His perfect love to flow through us to others.

What Happened at the Moment of Salvation

Let's review a few points from last week, but now, through the grid of how He equipped us to love others.

At the moment of our salvation we were placed into Christ by God's doing. When the Father looks at us He sees His Son Jesus. He cannot love us any more than He does.

At the moment of our salvation we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit in us is the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The Lord has given us the power to overcome any self-centered or emotional view of others. Jesus loved the unlovely (including you and me) and because we are in Him and He is in us, He has given us all we need to love others as He loves them.

At the moment of our salvation we were given a new nature. We are no longer sinners. We are saints who sin. The Lord changed us by giving us a new nature; we now have the ability to love others with a holy love because God changed us from the inside out. Before our salvation, we were enslaved to loving as the world loves, with fleshly thoughts and emotions. But now, with our new nature we are able to love from the heart of God.

To Have Love for Christ

Ephesians 6:24 (NLT) — "May God's grace upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love." The more we learn about Jesus the more we love Him. Then, when we love the Lord with all our hearts, we have God's grace to love.

2 Timothy 1:13-14 (NLT) — "Hold on to the pattern of right teaching you learned from me. And remember to live in the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has been entrusted to you." This is Paul's instruction to Timothy and he tells Timothy to carefully guard, with the help of the Holy Spirit, what has been entrusted to you. Do we carefully guard the Lord's teaching and resources that have been given to us? Loving Christ means guarding what He has entrusted to us.

Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT) — "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." To have love for Christ, I must think about Him and the realities of heaven where He is in all power and glory. To live a life of love, I must remember and believe that my real life is hidden with Christ in God.

To Have Love for Others We Must Love by Christ's Standard

John 15:9-13 (NLT) — "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it, the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends."

You may not be given the opportunity to die for someone. However, dying to our own plans, desires and needs for another can be painful. He commanded us to love one another, not asked or encouraged but commanded. The relationships that we have count and have eternal consequences.

John 15:17 (NLT) — "I command you to love each other."

To Have Love for Others We Must Live a Life of Love

Romans 12:9-19 (NLT) — "Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner, or, if they need lodging, for the night. If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God."

1 Peter 1:22 (NLT) — "Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts."

To Have Love for Others We Must Adorn Ourselves With Love

Colossians 3:12-14 (NLT) — "Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony."

To Have Love for Others We Must Nourish the Love We Have

Colossians 3:15-17 — "And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the word of Christ, in all its richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his word to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father."

As you study the Word, you have something to give others; your opinion does not bring help or change. God's Word, delivered by the Holy Spirit and received by the person, is life.