THE LOVE OF THE RISEN CHRIST

By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.“

THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS

In the following verses, we learn that despite being praised for their many good deeds, the Church in Ephesus was reprimanded by the Lord for their lack of love towards Him. He referred to this as backsliding and urged them to repent, warning that the consequence would be the removal of the lampstand from them. This would result in the absence of His presence among them. It’s important to reflect on this, considering He is the light of both the church and the world.

Rev 2: 4-5 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent.”

What could this mean? Despite having received numerous commendations from the Lord (see verses below), one would expect them to thrive and excel, but the Lord declared that they had fallen.

Revelation 2:2-3“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.”

It is concerning to see a church with such impressive credentials from the Lord himself backsliding to an extent that He was going to leave them. This is a very serious situation. The church had become more focused on their ministry as an idol rather than loving the Lord himself. Unfortunately, this is the tragic reality that the Lord had warned about.

Matt 7:22-23 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Those who engage in ministry without genuine love for Jesus or without truly knowing Him as love may ultimately face damnation. The presence of the Lord can only be truly experienced when our actions are motivated by our deep love for Him.

John 14:21-24 “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.”

If our actions do not stem from our love for Christ, then He won’t be part of them. This is because our love is directed towards whatever holds the highest value in our hearts, and that is what motivates our actions.

Matt 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

When we fail to love Jesus with all our hearts, it indicates that He is not our most valued treasure and does not have our complete devotion. This is what is meant by backsliding or falling away—our hearts have shifted focus from Him. Instead of worshiping Him sincerely, we merely go through the motions with our lips. Even though we may still be involved in ministry activities, our hearts are no longer aligned with His purposes. Our passion for ministry becomes our idol, taking precedence over our love for Jesus. This applies to all aspects of our lives—if we do not act out of love for Jesus, then we are not truly glorifying Him but rather the things that motivate us.

Let’s take a practical example of this in our Lord Jesus.

John 14:31 “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.”

Everything Jesus did during His time on earth was driven by His deep love for the Father, not out of obligation or duty. His actions were not merely tasks to be completed, but rather expressions of His profound love for God. His motivation for every action stemmed from His genuine desire to honor and please the Father.

John 10:17 “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

The primary motivation behind Jesus’ sacrifice was to offer Himself as a demonstration of love to His Father, not because He felt obligated or enjoyed the act of dying. His desire to please and honor His Father was the driving force behind His sacrifice. As a result, the manifest presence of the Father was always with Him.

John 8:29 “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

What did Jesus do that pleased the Father? The answer is in the following verses.

Matt 22:37-39  “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Let us look at everyday situations to illustrate this truth, even within the realm of natural love. When people are deeply in love, they do everything for each other out of the love they share. They are willing to go to great lengths to show their love. Spending endless time together is not an obligation, but a genuine desire because they love each other. Every gift they give and everything they do is driven by their love for each other. They don’t do things because they love the action itself, but because they love the person they are doing it for. Similarly, when we engage in ministry or any other activity, it should not be because we love doing it, but because of our love for the Lord. It’s worth noting that we often end up enjoying these activities because of our love for the Lord. However, the underlying reason for doing anything should always be our love for Him. If the motive behind an action is our passion for the activity itself, then we’re doing it for ourselves to fulfill our own desires, rather than for the other person or the Lord.

We can only reciprocate love to the Lord when we truly understand and experience His love for us. “1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.”

Then, like the early church, we can declare that “ we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16

Jesus said in Luke 14:26 – “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” This verse emphasizes the level of commitment and devotion required to be a disciple of Jesus. It doesn’t mean to literally hate one’s family, but rather to love Jesus so much that all other relationships and priorities pale in comparison. It underscores the central importance of Jesus in the life of a believer.

The Holy Spirit alone holds the power to unveil God’s love for us, guiding us to the cross, and empowering us to respond with authentic devotion, mirroring the commitment of true disciples.

Heb 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We need to keep our focus on Jesus, as that’s where the greatest love is revealed. By doing so, we can love Him back. If we take our eyes away from Jesus, we won’t be able to see the love of God for us. The more we look upon Jesus, the more we see this love is beyond human understanding. This love can only be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.

To know Christ, we must covet His presence in our lives. We should create a culture of His presence so that we can know Him more intimately through experience. Our desire to study the Scriptures should be focused on knowing the Lord Jesus, not just studying the Bible. Our motivation for studying should be to know Him, who is the grace and love of God.

When the Lord was teaching His disciples about Himself, He first pointed to the Scriptures and explained that every scripture was about Him. He then pointed to the Cross as a major revelation of Himself. Christ had to suffer on the Cross to enter His glory. At Emmaus, the Lord revealed His person to the disciples by breaking bread. Breaking bread revealed Him as the giver of life, the source of life. He is the bread of life. The Holy Spirit opened their eyes to see the risen Lord, and they responded immediately by leaving everything behind for Him. Before that, they were discussing Scripture with no revelation, talking about a dead Jesus, and not understanding what the Lord was teaching them at the time. (Luke 24:13-35)

We should all learn from what Lord said to thr Church in Ephesus. It is not enough to just do good deeds; we must also do them out of love for Christ. Despite being commended for their works, they were in danger of losing the Lord’s presence because they lacked genuine devotion. At the heart of everything is Christ. Loving Jesus, serving Him wholeheartedly, and making Him our top priority, all with the assistance of the Holy Spirit should be the earnest pursuit of every believer.

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor of Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.

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