Christ and His Love is Crucial to Our Understanding of Scripture

Why do we read the Bible? To get tips on how to live? To get pointers on how to make do through hard times? No! We read the Scripture to learn more about Jesus Christ and His Finished Work,  to learn who we are in Christ!

First of all, we must ascertain for ourselves once and for all that the Christian life is not a life that we live in our own effort. In truth, it is Christ living His life in us:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2: 20)

This faith comes to us by hearing. and hearing the Word of Christ (Romans 10: 17). As we learn more about Jesus, who He is, what He has done for us, and evermore what He is doing for us, He causes us to reign in life.

Before that, Jesus told His disciples that it is His life that would live and thrive  through them:

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15: 4-5)

In the Letter to the Ephesians, Paul impresses upon the believers in Ephesus to gain a greater awareness of all that they have in Christ, who through His death and resurrection has raised us from the dead, infused us with His life, even to placing us in heavenly places with Him.

In Ephesians 3, Paul prays that they would gain a greater understanding, one which covers every direction, of God's love for them:

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love," (Ephesians 3: 17)

We must know and believe in God's love for us, never to be moved from us, no matter how we feel or what we are thinking. When we gain a greater understanding of His love for us, in us, and through us, then we can walk in Him with confidence, with no fear of being taken off course:

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" (Ephesians 4: 13-15)

We grow in unity with other believers through our greater knowledge of Jesus! Because we are rooted and grounded in His love, fully aware of Himself and His Work on our behalf, aberrant doctrines and errors will not dissuade us from the Truth of Him! Because we know and believe in His infinite love for us, we can then speak the Truth with love.

In fact, we then walk in obedience with others based on our growing knowledge and of God's grace and love for us:

"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another." (Ephesians 4: 25)

Why lie? We have His truth living in us

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

"Neither give place to the devil." (Ephesians 4: 26-27)

We will still get angry at evil, for love does not rejoice in iniquity. But because we are filled with God's love for us, we will no longer respond in sinful, fleshly wrath, but being led by the Spirit of God will rebuke with love.

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4: 32)

How are we able to kind, easy going, tolerant of others, even forgiving them? Because we are receiving a greater revelation of God's love for us, that He has forgiven all of our sins, that we now receive sonship in Christ. that in Him we have no need to fear anything. In fact. the power to forgive is God's power in us!

We walk in God's love:

"1e ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." (Ephesians 5: 1-2)

How can we walk as dear children, unless we know and believe that we are His dear children?:

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 5-6)

God has taken us into His family. Through Jesus Christ, we know become sons of God! (John 1: 12)

Who we are in Christ inform us of who we are, what we have, and how to walk, and it is He who is working within us to known and do His good pleasure!