“For the love of Christ compels us”: It
is the love which Christ has for man that is the constraining power of the
Apostle Paul’s teaching.”‘Compel”, from the Greek sunecho, means to surround,
hem in, overpower and imprison, to grip
tightly, hold together and hold fast. In every use of the word there is a sense
of constraint that prevents an escape – literally to overpower, dominate and
control. “For the love of God holds us fast… grips us tightly.” 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. We “die in
Christ” when we submit to the Lordship of Christ and willfully put Self, our
carnal fleshly nature, on the Cross of Christ: As Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ … I die daily … It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
“For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son”: Compelling love made possible mankind’s
reconciliation with God. “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 of their King. “Believing into
Him” speaks to “abiding in the Vine”, being “grafted into the Olive Tree”, and
is the essence of true faith, the prerequisite to reconciliation with God and
living God’s plan for His children.
“And He (Christ)
died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for
Him who died for them and rose again”: God’s plan for all who are
compelled by His love is that they should no longer live for themselves, but
for His Beloved Son. This is at the heart of salvation… living for the Son…
abiding in the Son… indwelt by the Son, releasing the Son’s implanted DNA
(nature) and continuing His earthly ministry. And, this is
sanctification, the process whereby we are set apart unto God to be molded and
shaped into holy vessels fit for Kingdom service: “Conformed to the image
(nature) of His (God’s) Son.” We begin as sin stained Self-centered spiritual
cripples, predestined through spiritual metamorphosis to become beacons
of radiant light reflecting the holy nature of Christ to a world drowning in
sin’s darkness.
In this verse the Apostle Paul
defined the extent of the
atonement and limited its application.
We must “die in Christ” to live with Christ in the forever Kingdom He has
prepared for us. God’s goal is our Christlikeness, “that He (Jesus) might be
the firstborn among many brethren.” This
word “brethren”, from the Greek word adelphos, means identity of origin,
members of the same family having the same nature. We are being changed in
degrees of glory into the nature – the character, virtues, values, and attitude
– of our Lord so He will have many “brethren”, spiritual brothers and sisters
fit for adoption into the royal family. 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…
WE MUST “DIE IN CHRIST” TO LIVE WITH CHRIST
(2 Cor. 5:14-15; Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 15:31; Jn. 3:16; Rom.
8:29)
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