Topical Bible: The Love of God: Christ Abides In

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Topical Encyclopedia

The concept of the love of God, particularly as it is manifested through Christ, is a central theme in Christian theology and Scripture. The love of God is not merely an abstract idea but is personified and made tangible through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This divine love is both sacrificial and redemptive, offering believers a model for how to live and love others.

Biblical Foundation

The love of God is foundational to the Christian faith and is most clearly demonstrated in the person and work of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of His abiding love, which is rooted in His relationship with the Father and extended to His followers. John 15:9 states, "As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love." This passage highlights the continuity and depth of divine love, which flows from the Father to the Son and then to believers.

The Apostle Paul further elaborates on the love of God in Christ in his epistles. In Romans 5:8 , Paul writes, "But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This sacrificial love is the ultimate demonstration of God's commitment to humanity, offering salvation and reconciliation through Christ's atoning sacrifice.

Christ's Abiding Presence

The abiding presence of Christ is a testament to the enduring nature of God's love. In John 15:4 , Jesus instructs His disciples, "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me." This metaphor of the vine and branches illustrates the intimate and sustaining relationship between Christ and believers, emphasizing the necessity of remaining in His love to bear spiritual fruit.

The indwelling of Christ through the Holy Spirit is another dimension of His abiding presence. In Ephesians 3:17-19 , Paul prays that Christ may dwell in the hearts of believers through faith, so that they "may have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge." This passage underscores the transformative power of Christ's love, which surpasses human understanding and fills believers with the fullness of God.

Practical Implications

The love of God in Christ calls believers to a life of love and service. In 1 John 4:19 , it is written, "We love because He first loved us." This verse encapsulates the response expected of those who have experienced God's love: to love others selflessly and sacrificially. The love of Christ serves as the ultimate example and motivation for Christian conduct, urging believers to reflect His love in their relationships and communities.

Furthermore, the love of God provides assurance and security for believers. Romans 8:38-39 declares, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." This assurance of God's unbreakable love offers comfort and strength, enabling believers to face trials and challenges with confidence.

In summary, the love of God as manifested in Christ is a profound and transformative force in the life of a believer. It is a love that abides, sustains, and empowers, calling Christians to live in a manner worthy of the Gospel and to extend that love to others.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

John 15:10
If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Of the Love of God
... receivest any comfort other than of thy God, and if ... Therefore love ascends to the
singular degree when it ... she yearns only for Christ, and Christ desires; only ...
//christianbookshelf.org/rolle/the fire of love/chapter xi of the love.htm

Of Love to God
... quickly blown away, but a tree that is rooted abides the storm ... Relations may lie
on the bosom, but Christ must lie in the ... We must love God more than our estate. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a divine cordial/of love to god.htm

God's Purpose for his Church
... Everyone in whose heart Christ abides, everyone who will show forth His love to
the world, is a worker together with God for the blessing of humanity. ...
/.../white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 1 gods purpose for.htm

God the Holy Spirit the Love which Dwells in the Heart.
... the unity which, as the fruit of Love, is wrought ... and languages, enters into the
hearts of God's elect, abiding ... of the members in the body of Christ, under Him ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xx god the holy spirit.htm

Wherefore it is Better to Take Entent to the Love of God than to ...
... done, soothly they shall be borne into everlasting song, and go up with Christ to
the height of truth, enjoying the Face of God in love withouten end. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/rolle/the fire of love/chapter v wherefore it is.htm

The Greatest of These is Love.
... But even before the throne of God, love remains as ... doubt, love with resistance; but
where Christ truly lives ... and hope will finally cease, Love abides forever. ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xxiii the greatest of these.htm

He Briefly Takes up Again the Same Points of Dispute...
... reason that he wrote of the love of God, "which is in Christ Jesus," lest otherwise
thou mightest imagine that the love of God and of Christ was divided ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter xv he briefly takes.htm

The First Chapter: Imitating Christ and Despising all Vanities on ...
... must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ. ... moreover, to turn your heart
from the love of things ... stain their consciences and lose the grace of God. ...
/.../kempis/the imitation of christ/the first chapter imitating christ.htm

The Indwelling Christ
... the spirit must be a faith which works by love, if it ... by his own strength, and so
expects to draw God into it, has made the mistake which Christ pointed out ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture ephesians peter/the indwelling christ.htm

The Gospel of the Friends of God
... the Lord was despised, and wronged, by those whose hearts were given to aught that
was less than God. It was the thought that the love of Christ was rejected ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bevan/three friends of god/chapter lix the gospel of.htm