THE FACTS OF LIFE - THE BETTER WAY

As become our custom, let's quickly take a brief look at one of the pivotal verses of our studies thus far found in Philippians 2:13 "for it is God who works in you to will (motivation) and to do (implementation) in order to fulfill his good purpose."  This is a great verse to commit to memory so that it readily comes to mind when you have need to rely on the indwelling Holy Spirit to both motivate and enable you to obey God's will.  Now, it may seem like I'm being somewhat redundant or may be taking too much time on this one verse of Scripture but, from years of experience in the ministry, I've found it to be, for many believers, the key to achieving spiritual maturity. So, with your indulgence, I'd like to take our study a little deeper than usual today by looking more closely into the two related but distinct things God wants to do in you and in me.  But first, let's break this verse down into its elements for clarity.

WHO: It is God's Holy Spirit within you who does this work. (not you or your will or your determination)

WHAT ARE THE TWO WORKS HE DOES WITHIN US?: 1) creates the will, desire, motivation to do what's pleasing to God and 2) enables, facilitates, empowers us to do what pleases God.

PURPOSE: to please God; to carry out His Will, to grow into maturity, to obey His commands.

Now, for reasons you'll see below, I'd like to begin with the second of these two: enablement.   First of all, let's see how He does that.  When we talk about enablement, it's important to understand the several elements inherent in this word.   Enablement is both the ability to do something (talent) and means (medium) to do it.  For example, an artist may have the talent to paint, he may be motivated to paint but, unless he has the means or instrumentality to express that talent, he cannot produce a picture.   This is an apt analogy for the enablement part of our key verse.  As God's Holy Spirit works within us to do His Will, He does so by 1) giving us the ability, (talent, gifts, skills) needed to accomplish God's will and then, 2) through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit, guides, empowers and enables us to bring those abilities to bear on the fulfillment of His Will.  Now, how in the world does all this get to us from God?  By His Grace.

AMAZING GRACE:  By this point in our studies, you will likely be aware of persistent emphasis on, for lack of a better phrase, practical Christianity.  What's the point, after all, of embracing a faith, philosophy or religion, even those of great beauty and historical significance, if it doesn't do anything.   Indeed, as I've mentioned many times before, the emphasis on doing is one the hallmarks of true Christianity.  (James 1:22; Matthew 7:21, Hebrews 10:36).  "Without works", James tells us, "faith is dead."  But be careful here, although good deeds are an essential demonstration of faith, they must not be considered meritorious works worthy of God's great salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9).  To do so would allow man to boast of his own righteousness, thus nullifying God's gift of salvation by Grace.  In truth, God's grace, rightly understood, is the only means though which the unsaved may receive the gift of salvation.  

Amazingly, grace is also the only way the saved can continue to receive God's provision, gifts and power needed to enable the believer to do His Will and grow into the likeness of Christ.  To better understand this elementary but critical truth, let's first get a better idea of what grace is all about.   The meaning of grace, in the Greek language, basically connotes a favor or gift from one person to another and carries an overtone of condescension in which the giver graciously grants something to another of inferior status.  It is this latter connotation, undeservedness, which the Scriptures emphasizes such that grace means unmerited or undeserved favor.  This undeservedness is a key element in understanding the full implications for the believer's life, both now and in the future.  This is such a rich topic for study, I've added this page for further study: GRACE

PROPERLY UNDERSOOD:  Thus, grace, properly understood, is the means of that empowerment we spoke about earlier and is needed to consistently and persistently carry out God's Will in our daily lives.  Indeed, grace was cited by the Apostle Paul as the sole source of those phenomenal talents, gifts and capabilities he used in his service to God.  He writes; "I labored more abundantly than anyone else... yet not I, but the grace of God within me."  I Corinthians 15:10.  All through this remarkable epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul explains the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, enabling, empowering and endowing him or her with all that is necessary for pleasing God.  And, by extension, all that is necessary for each member of the Body of Christ to minister to one another to edify the church.  Now let's sum this up.

Recall from the first few paragraphs of today's study, God works in us to enable each believer to do God's Will.  This is done by the Holy Spirit, who not only gives us, through grace, the ability (talents, skills) needed to do God's Will, He also provides the means (medium, instrumentality) to apply them at just the right time and manner.  I Corinthians 2:4, Luke 12:12.   For example, Paul speaks to us about the gifts of the Spirit in I Corinthians 12, which, of course, are given to each believer by grace to fulfill a particular task in building the body of Christ.   Now, watch carefully as Paul ends his discourse in I Corinthians 12 and moves on to chapter 13.  He subtly shifts his focus away from the gifts of the spirit, from the doing part of our key verse and introduces a related concept which has to do with the willing part of the formula.   It is at this point, Paul's narrative moves from Grace, in Chapter 12 to Love (agape) in Chapter 13.  And, in making this subtle transition, he reveals the great motivator in Christian service and calls it "a better way". (I Corinthians 12:31. 

A BETTER WORD FOR THE BETTER WAY:   In previous studies we've seen that defining and describing the word love, as it used in Scripture, is extremely important to the proper understanding of its use.  In our day and age, the word love is probably the most overused and least understood of any in the English dictionary.   Fortunately for us, God chose the rich Greek language to convey His truth in a more concise manner.  Actually the Greeks has several words which the English language translates as "love".  1) Eros: love someone passionately, erotically: Eros is the kind of love that takes from others. 2) Phileo: brotherly or platonic love of someone you enjoy. Phileo is the kind of love that shares. 3) Agape: Godly love that actively seeks the highest good of the one loved; Agape is the kind of love that gives.  It is this last word, agape, that the Bible uses to describe God's love to us. It is a concept completely foreign to the natural mind and, only by seeing it demonstrated by God's gift of salvation, can we begin to understand it.  This special kind of love cannot be generated from within us so the Holy Spirit must be recognized as both its source and teacher.

Although we've gone over this in previous studies, it's very important to understand that the expression of agape comes from the mind, not the heart. It is cognitive in nature, not emotional, and comes from the will. This is the reason for which God can command us to love since it involves a choice of will, not the affect of emotion.  If some sort of emotion is involved at all, it will be as a consequence, rather than the cause of a loving act.   Agape is capable of discriminating between what is truly good and what is merely pleasurable; its expression always involves an act which is purposed for the good of the one loved; it is unilateral and unconditional; moreover, it must be learned by example and practice.  It is this last fact which underscores its function within the Church, the body of Christ.   Thus, as God commands us to love one another, agape becomes a sort of super glue, binding believers together in a family relationship which can exist harmoniously only as we continue to practice His love on one another!   Sounds like an enigma doesn't it?  Actually it reveals a very important supernatural truth; love is dynamic! It is not a static principle or theoretical premise.   It is a power, much like faith, that waxes and wanes with use.  By exercising our faith, for example, it increases our trust in God's promises.   Likewise, agape is a practical skill that must be learned just like any other: it requires practice for proficiency.

LEARNING BY EXAMPLE:  While it is true that agape, in the believer's life, is strengthened with practice, it becomes an easier task when we can see it demonstrated before our very eyes.  The old adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words", certainly applies here.  But, how and where can we find this extraordinary concept demonstrated today?  Well, as in all things spiritual, we turn once again to the living Word of God, the Bible.  Let's remind ourselves of the verse in II Timothy 3:16; "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." 

So, it is here, in the Scriptures, we find the constraining narrative of God's great love exemplified.  Who is not profoundly moved by the story of God's incredible love towards a fallen, rebellious and unworthy mankind who, most of whom not only rejected the gracious gift of His beloved Son, crucified God incarnate (Acts 2:23) and even mocks Him openly as a liar II Peter 3:3-4.  For the relatively few who see and understand the significance of God's incredible sacrifice for mankind, His agape love compels, constrains and binds (II Corinthians 5:14) the believer to humbly and gratefully reciprocate that same love back to God Himself (I John 4:19) and toward the object of God's love, mankind.  (Luke 10:27).

We're about out of space here for this study but there are a few more comments I've made on this page: AGAPE

Practical Homework: Pray and ask God to help you select one thing in your spiritual life which is displeasing to Him.  It may be something over which you have struggled for a long time.  First narrow it down to a specific issue, write it out on paper and then ask the Holy Spirit to give you the will and empowerment to please Him by applying Philippians 2:13.

QUESTIONS

1. How can we learn to love with God's "agape" love? I John 4:19.

2. What is the source of agape love? Romans 5:5

3. Where does God's "agape" kind of love come from in Galatians 5:22

4. Love sometimes comes to us in what form? Hebrews 12:6

5. Does God really expect us to love someone that we find obnoxious or even hateful? John 15:12

6. By what simple rule does Christ judge our love to Him John 14:15.

7. What is the key to "abiding in Christ's love"? John 15:10

8. How does "loving one another" promote oneness and unity? Ephesians 4:2-3, I Peter 4:8.

9. Who are we commanded to love in Matthew 22:37-39

10. What does Romans 13:8-10 tell you about how best to obey all God's commandments?

11. . What does love do in Colossians 3:14.

12. What keeps us from loving fully? I John 4:18

13. What does I John 4:20 say about our true relationship with God if we are unloving toward a brother?

14. On a separate piece of paper write down each characteristic of love found in I Corinthians 13:4-7.

15. Go back over each characteristic and try to expand on what you think it means.

16. How do we know the depths of God's love for us? I John 3:1

17. How do we gain access in to grace? Romans 5:2

18: Does God expect us to love when our feelings are intensely unloving?  (hate, unforgiveness, revulsion, etc.) John 13:34-35

19. What does love motivate to do in Galatians 5:13?

20. What are some of the things we get from God because He loved us first? Ephesians 2:4-9

21. How did God demonstrate His love visibly to us?  John 4:9