In the past days, we remembered the sufferings of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who took the place of fallen man on the cross, was sacrificed as an innocent and spotless Lamb and bore the sins and iniquities of fallen man upon Himself and brought reconciliation with His precious blood and entered death and rose from the dead as Victor, so that everyone, who would believe in Jesus Christ and through identification with Him through regeneration, wouldn’t see death, but through the resurrection of the spirit from the dead, would enter eternal life. Jesus did this all out of love; out of love for His Father and out of love for humanity, but what do you do out of love for Jesus? People always want to receive and are focused upon (earthly) blessings and what God can do for them, but what do people do for God? What do you do to show your love for Jesus? How can you show your love for Jesus according to the Bible?
The love of Jesus for His Father
Jesus came in the flesh on earth and was the reflection of God the Father. Jesus was fully Human and had the ability to sin, but because of His fear and love for His Father, Jesus didn’t sin, but Jesus stayed faithful and obedient to the Father.
Jesus spent much time with His Father in prayer, not because Jesus had to, but because Jesus wanted to. He loved His Father and therefore He wanted to spend time with His Father.
The love, which Jesus showed to His Father was not related to emotions, feelings, or carnal expressions, but His obedience.
Jesus stayed fully obedient to the Father and showed His obedience to the will of His Father by His words and deeds.
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abides not in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father (John 8:34-38)
Jesus obeyed the words of the Father and spoke the words of His Father. Jesus spoke and did what He had seen His Father do and commanded to do, and because of His obedience to the Father, Jesus was persecuted and eventually put to death, just like the prophets (Read also: ‘Obedience to God’ and ‘Have faith in God’)
Jesus walked in obedience to the Father
My son, keep My words, and lay up My commandments with thee. Keep My commandments, and live; and My law as the apple of Thine eye (Proverbs 7:1-2)
And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king (1 Samuel 15:22-23).
Jesus listened to the voice of His Father and was faithful to His Father and walked in obedience to the commandments of the Father and did what was good. However the world didn’t consider, what Jesus did, as good but as evil, because Jesus testified that her works were evil and therefore Jesus was a threat to the ruler of the world, the devil, and those, who belonged to the devil and the world.
And that is still the case for those, who by faith and regeneration in Christ have become a new creation.
As Jesus was a reflection of the Father, the new creations are a reflection of Jesus Christ and walk, just like Jesus walked, in the will of the Father. And because they walk after the Spirit in the truth and the will of God in the light, they shall convict the world of sin and testify that her works are evil. Therefore, the new creations shall also be a threat to the devil and his kingdom and those, who belong to him and because of that, the new creations shall be persecuted.
The new creation speaks and obeys the words of God
And what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no man receives His testimony. He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:32-36)
During His life on earth, Jesus has made known His commandments and the will of the Father and His Kingdom. Jesus taught His disciples and commanded His disciples to go into the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ and teach them all things, which Jesus had taught them and commanded them to do. So that every believer and disciple of Jesus Christ, who belonged to Him, would obey His words and do what Jesus has commanded to do (a.o. Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-20, Luke 24:47-49, Acts 1:1-9).
The commandments of Jesus and the great commission that Jesus gave to His disciples didn’t end with the first church and were not only meant for the first apostles, but still apply to all those, who have become a new creation in Christ and have received the Holy Spirit. Because without the Holy Spirit the new creation can’t exist and function.
How can you show your love for Jesus?
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 (John 14:21)
If ye love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15)
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. 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 (John 14:23-24)
As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love (15:9-10)
Many people confess their love for Jesus, but many times they don’t show it through their lives.
Because how can you show your love for Jesus? By singing songs? By doing charity works? Through humanistic behavior and acts of kindness? By being kind and everyone’s friend and therefore many times adjust the truth of God to people’s feelings, desires, and lifestyles in order to fit in and get along with everyone and be liked and accepted and keep everyone happy and satisfied? By building bridges with the world and compromise because of the so-called false love, peace, and unity? By tolerating the works of the darkness and the works of the flesh aka sin in the church? No…
How can the new creation, who is delivered from the kingdom of darkness (the world) by faith and regeneration and died to the flesh, compromise with the world (the kingdom of darkness) and adjust the gospel to the will of people and the lusts and desires of the flesh, and do the works of the flesh; sin, that Jesus has condemned in His flesh and dealt with on the cross and has redeemed the new man from, and/or allow and tolerate sin in the church? (a.o. Romans 8:3, Colossians 1:13-14)
That’s impossible! If this happens in someone’s life or in a church, then Jesus Christ is not the Lord of the person and Jesus Christ is not the Head of the church and the Holy Spirit is not present, but the person or the church has left Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life and walks on self-chosen paths.
How can you show your love for Jesus? The only way to show your love for Jesus is through obedience to Jesus and doing what He says.
If you listen to Jesus Christ; the Word and yield to the Word and do what He says and walk in His commandments and therefore do His commandments, then you shall show Jesus that you love Him and you shall abide in His love and His love shall be in you.
If you love Jesus and walk in His commandments, which derive from the Father, you shall not walk after the flesh and keep doing the works of the flesh and persevere in sin, but because of your love for Jesus and your obedience to Him and His commandments, you shall lay down the works of the flesh and walk holy in righteousness in the will of the Father (Read also: ‘The commandments of God and the commandments of Jesus Christ‘).
Why do you call Me Lord Lord, but do not what I say?
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:46)
Jesus has risen from the dead and is alive and still speaks through the Holy Spirits the words of the Father to those, who belong to Him. Those, who belong to Jesus Christ and truly love Jesus Christ shall spend time with Jesus and the Father in the Word and in prayer and shall listen to His words and obey His words and commandments instead of adjusting His words and/or rejecting them. Through their obedience to the Word, they show that they love Jesus and that they belong to Him.
People can say all kinds of things, but in the end, the obedience to Jesus; the Word, and the works prove if someone belongs to Jesus and loves Jesus or not.
Do you love Jesus and do you submit yourself to Jesus; the Word and the will of the Father and do you do what the Word tells you to do and do you bear the fruit of the Spirit? Or do you love yourself and do you submit yourself to your will and the lusts and desires of the flesh and do you do what the world says and do you bear the fruit of the flesh?
‘Be the salt of the earth’
