The Love Of Christ Compels Us

6-16-24

Hoonah-Hadley

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17

Call to Worship Psalm 20

Daily Verses 2 Cor. 5:14-15

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: 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.” Day after day, week after week, verse after verse, God is building for Himself a temple to dwell in through His children. A house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. (Hebrews 3:4) Each week we build upon the last and prepare for the next, but it all begins and ends with the Master builder, the Chief Cornerstone, the firm foundation, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We recently studied Psalm 139 in part, revealing that God knows our thoughts and words, all vital to understanding who He is and who we are in light of that knowledge. We add to that building this morning His love. His love was there in the beginning and will be there in the end, but we can say it is the mortar that holds the blocks together, it is the solar panels, the windmill, the steam, the power that fuels the soul to build His house. If we do our diligence with our daily bread and read around our lesson, the picture becomes clearer, and the building starts to take shape. 2 Cor. 5:1 “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” God’s word has much to do about building, houses, and homes. When we come to that place of understanding we are that building prepared by God, we’ll show up to work by faith, thinking His thoughts, speaking His words and trusting His blueprint.

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The love of Christ compels us. Old versions use “constrain” and newer versions use “control”. To “constrain” is to compress, to bind, to compel by physical, moral or circumstantial force, oblige. Compel is to force, drive or constrain, to make necessary. In other words, the love of Christ forces us, it drives us. Grammatically speaking this could be either the love Christ has for us or the love we have for Christ, but Paul furthers his cause by saying “One died for all”.  John 3:16 could be the cliff notes on all things great and small, “For God so loved the world that He gave…” Paul is probably talking about Christ’s love for us when we consider 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.” Let’s be honest, we didn’t discover love, love discovered us. For love to fulfill its purpose, it is given and received, a two-way street. Surely His love for us and our love for Him tightens the knot and “forces” us, “drives” us to ditch our filthy rags, put on Christ and be that fragrant offering we are called to be. Before we get too far along we want to remind you that within the confines of Romans 8, we have the fortress of His love for us. Vs. 37-39 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  To constrain, compel or control is likened to the river which is intentionally, partly and specifically diverted into a smaller channel to drive a wheel to produce power. The water is “controlled” or “forced” to a specific task. In the case of the water wheel that action is often converted into electricity. In our lesson, it is our lives that are set aside, converted, “constrained”, transformed, renewed “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 

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2 Cor. 5:5 “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” There is no debate here, no wondering, a simple “ok” will do. God has prepared us and given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

There is nothing we can add to this other than CeCe Winans lyrics to Goodness of God. “I love You Lord. Oh Your mercy never fails me. All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands. From the moment that I wake up, until I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness of God.” In short, verse 5 is a “God, given, guarantee.” Thank you Jesus! Verse 6 “So we are always confident…” The distinguishing mark of a believer is their confidence in the love of Christ. Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” This is a massive statement and an anchor for the soul. You want a bumper sticker, a sign over your door, a message written on the tablet of your heart? Here it is, “Galatians 2:20”.  Not just confident, but “always” confident. Vs. 7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” God’s word is many things, not the least of which is a reminder. A reminder of how we are to think, talk and walk, among other things. Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another.” The world, the flesh, if you will, puts a strong emphasis on the flesh. You see the billboards, the makeup industry, the isles upon isles of bodily products that in the end get washed down the drain. Humanity looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. (1 Sam. 16:7) As a reminder, we walk by faith and not by sight. Be in the world but not of it. 1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world…”

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Compel is to force, drive or constrain, to make necessary. “The love of Christ compels us.” Compels us, forces us, drives us to what? Vs. 15 “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.” Remember, God so loved the world that He gave. There is no love without giving. Hebrews 12:2 “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” We are compelled to “look” unto Jesus, to “live” for Jesus, to “die” to self, “crucify” self. The world promotes narcissism, does a fine job of it, it is a disease of epic proportions, to the destruction of those that buy its wares. Narcissism is “excessive admiration or love for oneself.” Research it so you know how to recognize it and deal with it, with yourself and with others. Why do we have storage units? To store stuff that we don’t use. Why do we have yard sales? To sale stuff that we don’t need. Our homes, garages, basements, attics, hearts and minds are junk heaps of unwanted, unused stuff. What is often missing, unused or rejected is the one thing we so desperately need in a dry and parched land, the river of living water, Jesus Christ Himself. Vs. 17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.”  Be born again, washed in His blood, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, daily.  We have been given a ministry of reconciliation verses 18-19. Vs. 20 “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us…” The love of Christ compels us to crucify the narcissist within, to ditch our filthy rags, cloth ourselves with Christ. Compel is to force, drive, to make necessary. Necessity is laid upon us.

Make the love of Christ your driving force.

Amen!