Your Love for The Saints

[Sue J Love]

“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:15-19 NASB’95)

The apostle Paul wrote these words to the saints who were in Ephesus, who were the faithful in Christ Jesus. And a saint is one who is holy. And one who is holy is one who is separate (unlike, different) from the world because he is being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, as he cooperates fully with God’s work of grace in his life, in surrender to the will of God for his life. And the faithful are all who are of God-persuaded faith in the Lord, who have died to sin, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord, in practice, and who are committed to serving God with their lives.

So, this (above) is the “faith” that Paul spoke of in reference to the Ephesian Christians. This was not “faith” by how so many people interpret it today, where they feel that they can just say they believe in Jesus, or they can just pray a prayer to “receive Christ,” or where they can just accept God’s grace and now they are saved and on their way to heaven, regardless of how they live, and with no requirements that they die with Christ to sin and walk with him in obedience to his commands, as evidence that they are of genuine faith, and that they are in genuine relationship with God Almighty.

And I must stress this because so many people today are being lied to, and they are being given a false hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God based on lip service only, but absent of genuine repentance (turning from sin, death to sin) and walks of obedience to the Lord and to his commands, empowered by God. And so many people are anticipating that when they die that they are going to be with Jesus in heaven because they made a profession of faith in him. But if sin is what they practice, and not obedience to God, they will not inherit eternal life with God, sadly so.

Now, if our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine God-persuaded faith in him, not only should it result in us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but in daily practice, and us walking in obedience to his commands, in his power, but it should be shown in how we treat other people. And the love for others that this is talking about is not human love, not love based on our feelings or on how others treat us, but love which shows kindness even to our enemies who mistreat us, and who lie about us, and who do evil against us. For love comes from God and it prefers all that is of God and that is righteous.

And if we love one another within the body of Christ with this love which comes from God, and which is based in all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, godly, faithful, and obedient to God, then we are going to do for one another what is of God, that which gives glory to God, and that which encourages one another to be faithful to God in walks of obedience to his commands. So we will also not sin against them deliberately and habitually, and we will not lie to them, but we will speak the truth of God in love to them, for their good, and for their spiritual growth in the Lord.

Now, that may not make us well liked or appreciated among those who profess the name of Jesus, for so many people today who claim faith in the Lord are buying into a very cheapened form of God’s gospel message. And they are teaching people that lip service alone will get them into heaven. And so if we speak the truth of God’s word to the people, out of love for them, that may get us rejected, cast aside as unwanted and as unnecessary, mocked, made fun of, and generally just ignored. But speaking the truth to them that they need to hear is one of the greatest expressions of love.

But we are to do good to others in other ways, as well, in showing kindness and consideration to them in what they are going through, and helping them if needed, if we are able, or just checking in on them to see how they are doing and praying for them and for their needs. And if we have any particular gifts, talents, or ministries, we might share some of these with them as a means of encouraging them and giving them hope. But as the body of Christ, we are to be encouraging one another to walk faithful to the Lord and to not let ourselves be taken captive by sin and by lies and liars.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:27-28; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; Ac 2:14-18; Ac 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Jude 1:22-23]

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wand’ring,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.

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Your Love for The Saints
An Original Work / April 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love