Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of the Moses for Zion's 4. The scriptures are very plain
concerning the love with which the Lord has loved his people,
which were given to him before the foundation of the world and
chosen in Christ. This is a perfect love, because
it has its origins in him who is perfect, and whom John says
is the very epitome of love. For love is of God, for God is
love. This is a specific love which
is bestowed upon them to the exclusion of others. Having loved
his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. They
were the ones for whom he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane,
saying, I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them
which thou hast given me, for they are thine. This is an unmerited
love, since it is bestowed on them not in light of their worthiness,
nor because of any form of obedience which was seen in them. In fact,
quite the opposite is true as we read, but God commended his
love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. This is a demonstrated love because
not only were the sons of God transgressors of His commandments,
but they were in a state of actual animosity towards Him when He
was pleased to demonstrate His everlasting love of them and
to call them by His grace to a knowledge of His redemption.
When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of His Son. This is a manifested love, because
it has pleased him to cause it to abide in those he has called
by his grace, and in dwelt by his Spirit. John repeats the
declaration which the Lord Jesus made in John 13, 35, when he
says, If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love
is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell
in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
One cannot begin to discuss the love of the brethren one towards
another until first the basis and example of the nature of
this love is set forth. This is my commandment, that
ye love one another as I have loved you. This is not an external
commandment which is written in tables of stone and enacted
as a requirement in order to gain eternal life or some reward. Rather, this is a commandment
which is written in the fleshy tables of the heart, and is an
evidence of his spirit in his children. This is the outworking
of that which he is pleased to work in his people, according
to the good pleasure of his will. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. If a man does not love his brethren,
then that man has no reason to believe that he has been born
again. This love of the brethren both exceeds and transcends the
natural love which a man has for those who are his flesh and
blood. The Lord Jesus demonstrated this by his own action. This
love of the brethren causes a man to be concerned with the needs
and welfare of them, even as Paul said, bear ye one another's
burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. While a concern and
compassion for the needs of men in general is quite commendable,
those in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells have as their primary
concern the needs of their brethren in Christ. This love of the brethren
is that which would have them esteem one another above themselves.
This is especially true in regards to what a man may have liberty
of conscience to do. Regardless of how much liberty
a man may have in Christ, he must first consider his brethren
before exercising that liberty. We then that are strong ought
to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. The love of the brethren causes
them to delight in the fellowship of the saints one with another.
John speaks of this common bond which the saints have with one
another in Christ. That which we have seen and heard,
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with
us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and His Son,
Jesus Christ. The saints of God are joined
together in Christ. So we being many are one body
in Christ, and every one members one of another. Now this is surely
true in a mystical sense wherein all of God's children share in
their common ancestry. Yet there is a very practical
manifestation of this bond which is demonstrated in the gathering
together of the saints in local assemblies. It is these gatherings
or assemblies that the saints are exhorted not to neglect.
Due to the institutionalization of churches over time, the true
purpose and benefit of this assembling has been hidden from the minds
of many. The purpose of those assemblies is not primarily to
hear men preach, but rather that the saints might be edified by
that which every part of the body supplies. Each part of the
body is vital to the health of the whole. We assemble because
we love the brethren and desire their benefit, not primarily
in order to have our own needs met. This is the love of Christ. Hereby perceive we the love of
God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to
lay down our lives for the brethren. My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.