{"id":24013,"date":"2019-08-28T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T12:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/?p=24013"},"modified":"2025-11-05T09:19:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:19:17","slug":"fulfilling-gods-purpose-to-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/fulfilling-gods-purpose-to-love.htm","title":{"rendered":"Fulfilling God’s Purpose to Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

Training Category: Church Purpose<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Loving God and people, what Jesus identified as the Greatest Commandments (Matt. 22:37-40),<\/span> has always been God’s intent<\/a>. What has changed, however, is that the Christian has a greater motivation, a greater power, and a greater confidence “to live a life of love,” as commanded in Ephesians 5:1-2, than those in previous ages. While we will always have more to learn about loving as He loves, it is possible that our “love may abound more and more” (Phil. 1:9-11).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Church’s Ability to Fulfill God’s Purpose to Love<\/h2>\n

Our Motivation:<\/p>\n

Prior to the church, people could only look forward to the highest example of love — the death of Jesus. We stand on the other side of the cross, looking back at what He has done. We have a fuller understanding of what love is which becomes a source of motivation for us to love as He loved.<\/p>\n

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (1 Jn. 3:16)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Our Power:<\/p>\n

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus promised His disciples the Holy Spirit who would come and permanently dwell within them. The Spirit always existed and always worked but in the Old Testament time He came on people temporarily as the occasion required to do a work for God. As we live by the Spirit within us, we will “not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” but rather exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, primary of which is love. We have a Helper within us unlike those in previous ages.<\/p>\n

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Our Confidence:<\/p>\n

When Jesus died, the veil to the Holy of Holies was torn in half symbolizing the direct access we now have to God. We no longer must go through the human agent of a priest. We are direct recipients of all God has to give us. That builds within us a boldness to approach God’s throne and a confidence to love as He loves.<\/p>\n

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.(1 Jn. 4:16-18)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Do the Greatest Commandments to love God and love people form the basis of your church purpose?<\/p>\n

\"Learn<\/a><\/p>\n

Learn more about God’s purpose for us to love God and others in the Church Purpose Ministry Manual.<\/strong><\/a> There you will find the content in this post as well as benefits of making this your church purpose, obstacles you might encounter, using a purpose statement, the practical outworking of this purpose, plus more.<\/p>\n

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