A  Bride Prepared      

Love of God is Perfected

Solomon noted that when love arose between a young man and a young woman, it was almost inexplicable – the young couple did not train for it; they did not study for it; they did not plan for it; they did not even know affection was coming.  Seemingly, their love just materialized out of thin air.  Solomon mused that some things were just too amazing to comprehend – and one of them is the beautiful romantic love that forms between a young man and a young woman.

However, it is different with the love that the Bride will have for Christ.  Godly love does not just come to pass out of the blue!  Godly love is spiritual and eternal – it originates with God.  It is God who first makes it possible for us to love Him.  John points this out for the Church, and he is quick to add that in the process of coming to love God – brotherly love cannot be omitted.  “We love [God], because He first loved us.  If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”  (1 John 4:19-20)

We come to love those brethren with whom we interact and serve – those we help and those for whom we sacrifice and pray.  We learn to relate to others in a manner that reflects the spiritual love and values taught by Jesus.  The love of the Bride is a growing love – it increases as she gives of herself.  “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.   No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us.”  (1 John 4:11-12)

Love One Another

If there is one overriding weakness within the Church of God in the last days – it is that of neglecting the love of one another.  We have been taught well the Law of God, but we fall short when it comes to a genuine love for one another.  Let us take a look into the preponderance of New Testament Scriptures which give a good indication of the compelling drive among its writers – under the direction of God’s Holy Spirit – to plead with the brethren for the salvational constraint to love one another.  “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.  He that loves not his brother abides in death.”  (1 John 3:14)

What is the Bible’s definition of the love of God toward the brethren?  The answer is simply that we interrelate with every man, woman, and child that we come into contact with according to the commandments of God.  “This is love, that we walk after His Commandments.”  (2 John :6)  Paul shows that this concept applies to everyone, but especially, to those in the Church of God.  “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”  (Galatians 6:10)  Peter clarifies that it must be from the heart and sincere:  “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”  (1 Peter 1:22)

“The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you… But as touching brotherly love you need not that I write unto you: for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”  (1 Thessalonians 3:12, 4:9)

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all toward each other abounds.”  (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

“Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints.”  (Colossians 1:4)

“Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints.”  (Philemon 1:5)

“Let brotherly love continue.”  (Hebrews 13:1)

“If ye fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.”  (James 2:8)

“He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”  (1 John 2:10)

“This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”  (1 John 3:11)

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves is begotten of God, and knows God.”  (1 John 4:7)

“This commandment have we from Him, That he who loves God, love his brother also.”  (1 John 4:21)

The Bride Loves the Children of God

The Bride will definitely love her Husband, Jesus Christ.  She knows that Christ would have her genuinely love all the brethren.  The Scriptures are abundantly clear that the Bride will be comprised of those who love all the Children of God. “Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is begotten of God: and everyone that loves Him that begat loves him also that is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments.”  1 John 5:1-2)

There are many more verses that attest to the vital importance of loving one another with a Godly love.  It is clearly an Old Testament concept (Leviticus 19:18) – made “new” by Jesus Christ when He showed how we must love one another.  His “new” command has to do with how deeply our commitment to love others must be.  Jesus gave the Church brethren the “new” directive when He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; AS I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”  (John 13:34-35)

We find this Biblical edict often repeated because of its absolute importance and magnitude.   Jesus said, “This is My commandment, That ye love one another, AS I have loved you.”  (John 15:12)

Chapter 14: Willing to Die for Others