DISCERNING DIVINE LOVE 2
(week 24/10)
OLUBI JOHNSON
In our article last week, we saw that divine wisdom is the supreme part of divine love and to walk and grow in love, you must grow in wisdom and walk in the spirit.
This week, we will see how to develop and release divine compassion and power to walk in divine love.
Divine compassion is being touched in your soul: will, mind and emotions; with the feeling of the sufferings of others that will cause you to respond to helping them overcome those sufferings by divine power.
Hebrews 4:15 MKJV: For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted just as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 5:2 MKJV: who can have compassion on the ignorant and on those who are out of the way. For he himself also is compassed with weakness.
Observe that compassion is being touched not overwhelmed with feelings of the infirmities or weaknesses or sufferings of others. This touching is a spiritual sensitivity administered by the Holy Spirit to your soul directed by divine wisdom, that then releases in the correct measure divine power to help the person in need.
This was why the Lord Jesus sometimes would heal or minister to 1) All (Lk. 6:19), 2) Many (Mk. 1:34), 3) Few (Mk. 6:5) or 4) Just one (Jn. 5:1-19; Lk. 5:19-26).
Observe it is not just uncontrolled human emotions without the direction of divine wisdom: one of the fruit of the spirit is self-control. Divine compassion is controlled by divine wisdom.
To develop this, you have to understand that you can and should love with your:
1. Will
2. Emotions
3. Mind.
In fact God demands that we love Him with all these things:
Matthew 22:37 NIV: Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
In this scripture, heart here refers to your will, soul to your emotions and mind, of course to your mind.
You are to love all men: good and bad with your will; so you have and practice good will (Rom.13:8-10) towards them even they do not deserve it (Mt. 5:44-45): this is the undeserved love of God that is called agape in the Greek; Divine wisdom will not allow divine compassion to operate beyond your will: so you love them with your will even if you do not like them with your emotions.
For instance, God loved the world and sent His Son to die for us even when He was not pleased with the world:
Romans 3:9-12 NIV: what shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. (10) As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; (11) there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. (12) All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:23-26 NIV: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (24) and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (25) God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— (26) he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
John 3:16 NIV: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
God can love you with His will and have no pleasure in you with His emotions:
Hebrews 10:38 MKJV: Now, “the Just shall live by faith. But if he draws back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
When divine wisdom dictates you do so and the degree to which you do so; divine compassion now operates in both your will and emotions: this is called phileo in Greek.
Observe that phileo must be built on a foundation of agape; otherwise phileo will crumble under pressure. Many relationships are built only on emotional affection: phileo and when the emotions are hurt, the relationship crumbles. This is particularly true in marriage. You must first love your spouse with your will: agape and then with emotions: phileo; so that when emotions are hurt or change, you can sustain the relationship by divine love as you pray for the person to gradually change in the areas in which they hurt your emotions. It takes the power of God operating on your will and emotions to love in this way over many years.
When divine wisdom shows you a heart that is willing to do all of God’s will then divine compassion operates in your will, emotions and mind towards such a person giving you a love for them with intimacy of the mind. This is a level of love in which you can share the deep secrets of your mind with the person because they have by revelation more of the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2.16) so you can trust them with deeper things.
In fact, this is how God relates to us: as we become more willing to do God’s will and actually practice it, God shares more and more of His mind and emotions with us.
This is why among His disciples, the Lord Jesus had the 12 Apostles (Mk. 4:10-11), the three: Peter, James and John (Mt. 17:1-9) and the one: John (Jn.13:23-26; 21.20-25).
By frequently asking God for mercy and praying in tongues (1 Cor. 14:18, Jude 1:20-21) and regular washing of feet we will get the wisdom, compassion and release the power of God to walk in love in every situation. This is practically how to walk in love by the Spirit. Many Christians try to walk in love by the flesh: the corrupted sin nature operating in the soul: mind, will and emotions; and the physical body so find it very difficult or impossible to walk in divine love.
This power of God will give healing, deliverance, provision; and whatever else may be needed to walk in love in every situation.
So, by divine wisdom, divine compassion and divine power, we can discern and walk in divine love in every situation!
