Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)
Amazing statements here. The reader is given the clear definition of what it means to love Jesus. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them. No ambiguity, no further clarity needed. We can easily discover for ourselves whether we pass the test or not. This is not a slavish obedience driven by fear but a joyful compliance motivated by love for the One who commands. Do we love Jesus? An honest answer is demanded. It has eternal ramifications.
Should we pass the test there are three promises from the text that flow from our love and obedience. 1) The Father will love us. 2) Jesus Himself will love us. 3) Jesus will manifest Himself to us.
To explore the negative of these is sobering but useful. First, neither the Father nor Jesus loves us with the “great” love that we see in Ephesians Chapters 1 and 2, the love God has for His own, those who are clothed in the righteousness of His Son. While the “world” may take a measure of comfort in the general or common love of God for His creation, it is a fantasy for them to believe that they are partakers of that predestinating, electing, “great” love by which He adopts us as sons through Jesus Christ from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 5). These “loves” are vastly different things. Next, it then follows that Jesus does not, will not, manifest Himself to us. He will not reveal the eternal treasures of His wisdom and beauty, the matchless wonder and mystery of the great salvation He offers to all. Any depth of intimate knowledge of the person and work of Christ remains hidden (Colossians 2:2, 3). The Scriptures are not made to live to us and in us (2 Timothy 3:15). A veil covers our blind eyes (2 Corinthians 3 & 4) and a cloud envelops and darkens our understanding. Our hearts remain hearts of stone, hardened to the things of God, and not vibrant, living hearts of flesh (2 Corinthians 3:3). We do not and cannot live as seeing the invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Such is the state of those who delude themselves thinking that God savingly loves them even though they blissfully live in open rebellion to His commands.
On the other hand, consider the promise of Jesus that He will manifest Himself and His Father to those who love Him. He will reveal Himself, make Himself intimately known to us – something of the breadth, length, height and depth of His love, the eternal wonders of His majesty and the glory that He enjoys at the right hand of the Father, the startling beauty of His person, His character, His attributes, all of which He holds in total perfection. Some of His attributes He shares with us in part, others He shares with no one. Holiness, eternality, self-existence, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability, independence, truthfulness, faithfulness, wisdom, knowledge, blessedness, righteousness, justice, mercy, love. All of these and more He holds in total perfection so we can say that the Lord Jesus Christ has all wisdom and knowledge (1 Corinthians 1:24); there is nothing that He does not know and all that he knows He works to unchanging perfection always. No mistakes. The three persons of the Trinity are all love, but God’s definition of love is beyond the creature’s comprehension. It includes of necessity the need of working in perfect unity with His holiness, mercy, justice and wrath. One attribute cannot dismiss and does not diminish another but all work in perfect harmony. His love cannot violate His holiness or His justice. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy (Romans 9:15). The sum of Him is incomprehensible. Regardless of the depth of our knowledge of Him, we know Him only in part. He is altogether “other” than we are and can never be reduced to a simplistic, compliant, always forgiving, never punishing, kindly God who is willing to overlook our transgressions and rebellion if we but “try our best.” Were that the case, there would have been no need of the cross. And the cross was God’s ultimate remedy and only true remedy for our sin. This ultimate remedy came at a cost that most of us too readily diminish. The rejection, suffering and dying anguish of His Son in the Atonement is no small thing. Let not proud man think that he can be saved by his own good intentions or puny efforts. That man will endure God’s eternal wrath.
If these things are true, and a convincing scriptural case can be made for all the above (explore for yourself and see), perhaps you will begin to see something of the wonder of God’s plan of salvation? How does a holy and righteous God save people from their sins without offending His own character? If He is all holy He cannot tolerate sin or accept it in His presence. And we are all sinners. To protect His justice there can be no forgiveness of sin without a just payment for offending Him. That payment can never be our worthless “works” that are as filthy rags in the eyes of a righteous God (Psalm 14:3, 143:2, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:12, 20, 23). In His great wisdom and mercy He has provided the only way of salvation for men – the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).
Does your love for Christ pass the test? Do you know this love (1 John 2:4)? The least of His children experience a full flow of it. Anyone who turns in faith to Christ, seeking the forgiveness of sins that only He can provide, trusting Him with his life now and eternity to come, will begin the forever journey of knowing the “great” love of God.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Learned Puritan 