The Love of Christ
2 Corinthians 5:14
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl8AGH-0Q7o
Today, I’d like to share with you 7 words that are filled with such a meaning that it literally began to take my breath away seeing the immensity and intensity of them.
In this verse, Paul speaks of his motivation for ministry, which should be ours as well. And can I just say that without the right motivation, very little progress can be made.
When the apostle Paul wrote these words, I believe he was describing the powerful, Spirit-filled motivation that drives followers of Jesus to share the gospel in ways that persuade people to commit their lives to Him.
This should then be our motivation.
“For the love of Christ constraineth us.” (2 Corinthians 5:14a KJV)
I’ve chosen the King James version for our verse today because they used the word, “constaineth.” And the reason is the multiple definitions of this word, and how, while they all apply to the love God has for us, they also can apply for our love for God. What we might say is that this phrase is double sided, that is, it is a two-edged sword, dividing both ways, and all for our good.
But to begin, I’d like to take time with you to look at this wonderful phrase, “The Love of Christ.” And while it is a phrase that occurs throughout the Bible in various forms, it is only used twice in this way.
“The Love of Christ.” There is no greater subject that we could really talk about. The love of Christ has a prominent place throughout the Bible, which is God’s revelation to this world.
But it isn’t just confined to the New Testament, but it is found throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament we see it in the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah, because Messiah is the Hebrew of the Greek word, Christ.
Now, you might be wondering where it’s found. The best and most prominent place is Isaiah chapter 53. Here are just a couple of verses to show you the love of Christ, the Messiah.
“Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)
Just how much love is shown? Well He took our place and died the death, we all deserve, as the Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
Talking about how great this love is, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13 NKJV)
And Jesus goes on to say, “I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you.” (John 15:15-16a)
In Romans chapter 5, Paul said, “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8 NKJV)
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10 NKJV)
That is how great the Love of Christ is, that He died for everyone, both friend and enemy.
And this is the heart, the essence if you would, of the good news of how Jesus came and died for us upon the cross, even while we were His enemies, while we were still sinners, and it was and is all about His love for us.
But the Love of Christ is seen in even a greater capacity, because of the Love of Christ is in all actuality, the Love of God towards us.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV)
But since we started this whole thing talking about how great the Love of Christ is, the Apostle Paul really nails it on the head, and this is the other verse that this phrase is used.
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19 NKJV)
In other words, the love of Christ is beyond any dimensions the world may have, and no matter how far out we may go, Christ’s love for us goes even further. Corrie ten Boom said it like this, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”
And note that Paul said that the love of Christ which passes knowledge. In other words, it’s beyond our ability to fully understand. And while we cannot know the immensity of its width, length, depth, and height, we may know something of it, that is, enough to give us a peace that surpasses all understanding where we can, like Paul, count all things as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord (Philippians 3:8).
But keep with me here because who is Christ?
He is not a created being, but literally He is the Lord God Himself. When speaking of the coming Messiah, Isaiah proclaimed that He would be no one less than the Lord God dwelling in our midst.
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (God with us).” (Isaiah 7:14 NKJV)
The Apostle John declared of Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1, 14 NKJV)
Of the coming Messiah, the prophet Jeremiah said this.
“I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Jeremiah 23:5-6 NKJV)
And so, the love of Christ is nothing less than the love of God for us. That is how great the love of Christ is.
And, this love was revealed in both His birth and in His death. This is seen so perfectly in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church.
“Being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8 NKJV)
And so, with this now clearly established, the question becomes, who are the objects of this love? The answer, we are the objects of Christ’s love.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NKJV)
Notice, God demonstrates His love towards us, that is, you and me. We are the objects of God’s love, of the love of Christ, even though we were His enemies, He loved us. Even in our worst sins, He loves us.
But if I could, I’d like to expand the object of His love to the church. We are His church, all of us together. Just as a bridegroom loves His bride, Jesus, the bridegroom, who is the head of the church, loves His bride, the church.
Of the church, Paul said, “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2 NKJV)
And at the end of days, the Apostle John saw the culmination of this love.
“‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'’” (Revelation 19:7-9 NKJV)
And seeing this love, know that it was not without its cost.
It began when He left heaven, where He laid aside all the glory and honor of divinity and came down to become a baby, born in a stable to poor parents, and laid in a feeding trough for animals.
And the purpose of His birth was so that He could be that perfect sinless sacrifice, as John the Baptist foretold, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NKJV)
And so, Jesus came and the effect of His coming was that through His love, the love of Christ, the world, that is, you and me, could be redeemed from the law, and hence the wrath of God, procuring for all those who believe reconciliation, pardon, and salvation. Opening a way to God and heaven forever, procuring for us eternal life.
Hopefully we can now see the immensity and greatness of the love of Christ, and how important it is for us to understand and let as many people know about it as we possibly can.
Now, some have interpreted the phrase, “The Love of Christ,” as Christ’s love for us, while others look at it as our love for Christ. And can I just say that while the Greek language favors the former, that is, Christ’s love for us, what I see is that they both interfuse, one with the other, and they are both relevant and can be supported by the Scriptures.
But the favored interpretation is Christ love for us, which is so apropos given what the Apostle John says.
He said, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10 NKJV)
And so now we get to this word, “constraineth,” and why I am describing it as a two-edged sword in its meaning, and that is because with the way in which the phrase, “The Love of Christ,” is in parsed in the Greek language, that also then extends to this word, “constraineth.” And these two ways that it is translated in many of the text reveals both definitions.
Some texts use the word, “control,” while other use the word, “compel.” And as you can see, they are completely different. But let me make this observation, and both are equally correct when it comes to our response to Christ’s love for us, that then causes us to love Christ.
Now, the definition to constrain, can mean to control, which literally means to hold together and to restrain and restrict. I have found that the word in the 3rd century BC, was used for someone that was obliged to stay somewhere longer than he or she wished. In other words, they were detained.
And so, from this definition, the love of Christ for us controls our actions where we want nothing more than to serve Him.
The other definition of the word means to compel, that is, to urge onward, to compel by force, to drive forward, to press on, and even to excite to action.
It is this second definition, by the way, that fits the grammar that Paul used. We see this idea from what Paul said in Romans 1:15-16.
“So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:15-16a NKJV)
But what I found fascinating is that this whole verse is in response to those who thought that Paul was crazy. In verse right before Paul talked about the Love of Christ that constrained him, he said, “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God.”
Basically, by saying that he and the others were “beside ourselves,” he was saying that the people thought that they had lost his marbles, and were out of their minds. And the reason is because they were content to endure a life of pain and trials if it brought God the glory.
Consider for a moment what Peter said. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love.” (1 Peter 1:6-8a NKJV)
And yet, being thought of as crazy for what they believed, and for not being ashamed for sharing, they were in great company, for so the detractors and His own family, thought that Jesus was out of His mind (Mark 3:21 and John 10:20).
And so, why was the Love of Christ constraining him, it was as he concluded this thought saying, “That if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14b-15 NKJV)
What constrained him, and what should be constraining us is the knowledge that Jesus Christ loved us so much that He died the death that we deserve, so that we can then die to ourselves and live for Him.
Conclusion
Without going further, which isn’t hard to do, seeing all that the Bible has to say about both of these positions, that is, Christ’s love for us and our love for Christ, and how this love both controls and restrains us, but also compels us and urges us forward, what I see in Paul’s life, through all of this, is a man that is so much in love with Jesus Christ that both Jesus and God’s word constrained him to be everything he can be for Christ.
And it is my prayer that such a work will guide our hearts as we wait for Jesus’s return, or until that day when we’re with Him in heaven.
That as believers in Jesus Christ that we would be energized in our service of Him. That the love of Christ would control and compel us to speak God’s word of life, and to live out that life before others, that when they hear and see us, that they are hearing and seeing Christ in us.
It was only then that Paul understood how the love of Christ was acting as a constraining power, first by compelling him forward in the Great Commission, directing every word He spoke and every act he made towards others for the glory of God, but also restraining him from every self-seeking purpose.
And so, what motivates us to share the good news of Jesus with others? Are we driven by Christ love for us, and a genuine love and affection for Christ, or is it merely by some sense of duty? What motivates us will make all the difference.
As I think about this, I am reminded of the Patriarch Jacob, who was so in love with Rachel that he labored 14 years for her. Twice as long as was agreed. And he did so out of his love for her. And so, it is for us, that we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, out of our love for Him and His love for us.
And so, the Love of Christ towards us is a love that knows everything about us and embraces us anyway. It is the love that transforms us to reflect Jesus Christ to a world that is in desperate need of such love.
