“For the love of Christ compels us”: It is the love which Christ has for man that is the
constraining power of Paul’s preaching. “Compel”, from the Greek sunecho, means
to grip tightly, to hold fast, to enclose, to hold prisoner or lock up, to
surround, to hem in, to overpower. In every use of the word there is a sense of
constraint that prevents an escape – literally to overpower, dominate and
control. The greatest proof to us of the love of Christ for mankind is that He
died. “If One died for all, then all died”: Christ died for all who died in Him, or one
died for all, therefore all died. The preposition “for” means “in behalf of” or
“in place of.” This is the heart of salvation! Everyone who “dies in Christ”
receives the benefit of His substitutionary death.In this very important verse Paul defined
the extent of the atonement and limited its application.
“For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”: Christ died for
mankind, and His atonement is extended to all as a free gift of grace. “That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life”: To “believe in Him” -- “Into Him” captures the Greek better -- is to be
firmly and absolutely persuaded about who He is and the truthfulness of His
promises, creating complete dependence, wholehearted commitment and conviction
as we trust in, cling to and rely upon Him. To
“believe into Him” is to “Die in Christ”, to die to Self and all the
Self-interests of earth-life, submitting to Christ as Lord and aligning one’s
heart with the heart interests of our King.
Believing is the price of accepting God’s free gift of
atonement, the lack of which limits its application. Christ
died for all, “that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but
for Him who died for them and rose again ... For the love of Christ compels us.”
For the love of Christ imprisons us, leaving us no choice except to live our
lives for Him… in Him…
ENDNOTE:
Captured in the verb “Believe” is the essence of God’s plan for mankind:
Transformation into Christlikeness, the metamorphosis of sin stained spiritual
cripples into beacons of radiant light reflecting the holy nature of Christ to
a world drowning in sin’s darkness. Many people wade in this verb, not
realizing the depths of its meaning could drown an elephant.
“FOR THE
LOVE OF CHRIST COMPELS US”
(2 Cor. 5:14-15; Jn. 3:16)
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