For this entry, please allow me to skip the usual introduction and go right into the three questions for us to consider.
Has the power of the gospel been diminished because of a misunderstanding of who God is?
In Romans 1:16 the apostle wrote the compelling words: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” What is it about the gospel, the good news about the person of God, that possesses power? The answer is that the gospel referred to here is the truth about God that refutes the lies proliferated by Satan. We gain power over error only as we receive and align with the truth.
The same apostle wrote in 2 Timothy 3:2-5 referring to the last days: “For people will be lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, [and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power.”
Whoa! In the last days, there will be people who talk religious talk, and walk religious walk but are strangers to the experience of true religion! James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” In other words, true religion leads to a transformation from living for oneself to living to serve the welfare of others. Where do we stand?
Do we have a clear understanding of Divine love (Agape)?
In Genesis 3:10 it’s written that Adam’s response to God after he sinned and hid was “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Did Adam hide because there was a change in God or a change in himself? What we believe determines what we perceive. Because of the lies Adam and Eve believed, not only did it lead them to distrust God and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it led them to run away from Him. We still struggle with this today. Therefore, the work of salvation involves exposing the errors and manifesting the truth about who God is. God is Agape!
“Agape is “the highest form of love, charity” and “the love of God for [human beings] and of [human beings] for God”. This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance.” Wikipedia
In English, we use the term ‘love’ for just about everything we enjoy in some way. With that said, let’s visit the Greek terms for love.
Eros: Romantic and passionate love | Intense attraction, physical desire
Philia (Fil-lia): Friendship love | Loyalty, mutual respect, shared goodwill
Storge (stor-gay): Familial love | Comfort, acceptance, familiarity
Agape: Selfless, unconditional love | Empathy, acts of kindness
Philautia (Fil-a-tia): Self-love | Self-compassion, self-care
Understanding the correct meaning of God-love helps us recognise who God is as well as who we are called to be. This same love is to develop and manifest within us.
1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”
Matthew 22:37-40 “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’ The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
If not love then what?
In this warfare between good and evil, some think love is too weak to win the battle. My question is, if not a clear demonstration of love (agape) then what else can God do to refute the lies told by Satan? And not just in our world to redeem humans but amongst the angels who witnessed the genesis of this war first-hand?
C.S. Lewis wrote: “The Father gives all He is and has to the Son. The Son gives Himself back to the Father and gives Himself to the world, and for the world to the Father, and thus gives the world (in Himself) back to the Father too.” The four Loves. And Ellen White in Steps to Christ adds: “…the enemy of good blinded the minds of men, so that they looked upon God with fear; they thought of Him as severe and unforgiving. Satan led men to conceive of God as a being whose chief attribute is stern justice, one who is a severe judge, a harsh, exacting creditor. He pictured the Creator as a being who is watching with a jealous eye to discern the errors and mistakes of men, that He may visit judgements upon them. It was to remove this dark shadow, by revealing to the world the infinite love of God, that Jesus came to live among men.” Such a presentation melts our frozen hearts and trumps Satan’s false accusations.
I’ll close with the encouraging words from Romans 2:4 which states: “Or do you have no regard for the wealth of His kindness and tolerance and patience? Are you [actually] unaware or ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness leads you to repentance [that is, to change your inner self, your old way of thinking—seek His purpose for your life?”
If receiving an accurate revelation of Agape can’t lead us to turn from darkness and enter the everlasting light of truth then nothing will!