Colossians 2: 2-3“Love” is the Vehicle of Revelation
Love is the conduit through which spiritual wisdom and knowledge is carried along to the believer.
Brotherly
love is absolutely essential for spiritual growth. As a matter of fact a
Christian will not and cannot grow in wisdom and knowledge when brotherly love
is compromised in the body of Christ. It like turning of the faucet to the flow
of water; when the valve is closed the water flow is hindered and it comes to a
standstill.
“Unity in Love” is the channel through which the knowledge
and wisdom of God travels and it is essential for spiritual growth. When
brotherly love is compromised spiritual growth is stifled.
The Christian is to be strengthened in heart and firmly
bound together in Christian love. The revelation of God cannot be properly
known apart from the cultivation of brotherly love within the community.
The Corinthian church, which had special need to learn this
lesson, was reminded that “knowledge inflates, but love builds up” and it is
later made clear in Ephesians 3: 17-18 that only as Christians “rooted and well
founded in love” can they “comprehend with all saints” the fullness of divine
revelation. And this love is personal: Christ himself is the mystery revealed.
It is the mystery of God revealed– Christ, with whom they have become one.
When the physical body is sick it loses its appetite for solid
foods and so it is with the church; the church becomes weak when Christian
“love” is compromised. The church loses appetite for the meat of the Word. It
closes the gate to deeper and fuller revelation which leads to spiritual
riches.
Paul
addressed the Corinthian church saying, “I gave you milk, not solid food, for
you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready for it...and the reason
given for their lack of appetite for solid food is credited to compromised
relationships.
The
apostle Paul was prepared to take them further and deeper in the things of God
but soon realized that the Corinthian believers were unprepared to it. They
were caught up in schism and division. Paul’s energy now turns to the healing
of relationships rather than leading them into fullness of Christ. The gateway
to spiritual riches was closed by a rift in the church. The vehicle of revelation
is now under repair.
1
Corinthians 3: 1-3, “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people
who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in
Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet
ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not
worldly?” There was a great deal of friction within the body of Christ. It was
like metal rubbing against metal and the many parts of the body became overheated
with friction and in danger of a meltdown. This church needed to get back its
first love.
Love is a Lubricant:
“Love” is the Lubricant that Reduces
Friction.
A lubricant separates moving parts so they
don’t rub against each other.
Moving parts require lubricant, otherwise, friction will
create heat and the increase of heat will damage moving parts. The Lord is
concerned about friction in the moving parts of His body. The body is a unit
with many parts that form one body and every moving part of the body requires the
lubricant of love from all the other members in order for it to function
effectively. For this reason the word of God says, “Be completely humble and
gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Eph. 4:2)
“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every
supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its
work.” (Eph. 4:16) “Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave
himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph 5:2) “And this is my prayer: that your
love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,” (Phil. 1:9)
The greater the love greater the ministry, greater the
blessing, greater the presence of God, the more the Holy Spirit will be poured
out on the believers. Keep in mind that those who are new in the Lord need a
loving and caring family to mentor, disciple and nurture them in the faith.
The diversity in the body, Paul says, is by God’s design. The
problem with the Church it seems is that it’s at issue with God’s design. “God
has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them
to be.” The emphasis is on the fact that each member is there by placement.
Why is it that Christian get upset with God’s design for His
church? Can you accept God’s design for
the Church? The problem is that believers strive for uniformity at the expense
of diversity. We like uniformity but
struggle with diversity. Diversity within unity is Paul’s concern. Christians
are not pickles in a jar...the same size and color...no my friend. And there’s
also a diversity of gifts given to the church by the Holy Spirit.
Paul asserts that God is responsible for the diversity that
makes up the one body and those whom God has placed in the church. The
scriptures says He gave some to be apostles, prophets, teachers, pastor,
evangelist, and then he speaks of the charismata; gifts of prophecy, gifts of miracles, gifts of healings, and gifts of tonques.
And none of these gifts can function effectively in the
absence of love one for another.
Being
united in love is the way to go, otherwise, the way they are going is
destructive to the church as a community.
The way they are being called to is
one that seeks the good of others before oneself.
It is the way of edifying the
church, of seeking the common good.
It is not love versus gifts that Paul has
in mind, but “love as the only context for gifts; for without the former, the
latter have no usefulness at all – but then neither does much of anything else
in the Christian life.
“So now faith, hope,
and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)
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