Electing Love

Pause and consider this opening verse, ‘As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you’. It is a great and precious discovery to every redeemed sinner that Christ’s love for His Bride is analogous to the Father’s particular and infinite love for His own dear Son. We may, on the basis of this statement alone, reject the foolish and unbiblical notion of the universal love of God for every individual. The Father declared His love and divine pleasure for His Son and the Lord Jesus tells us He has the same love and pleasure for His Church.

 Infinite love

John tells us God is love. The love of God the Father for His Son and the love of the Son for His Father – not to the exclusion of God the Holy Spirit – is humanly impossible to conceive. Like all God’s attributes it is infinite. Yet, here our Saviour tells us He loves us with love equivalent and comparable to the divine complacency. ‘As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.’ God’s people are enclosed with everlasting, limitless and infinite love. 

Personal love

This is of great comfort to us. Our Lord Jesus is assuring us of both His Father’s love to Him, and His love to us who are in Him. Our union with the Son, recently spoken of under the similitude of Christ the True Vine and its fruitful branches, is founded on love so powerful and intense as to be beyond human comprehension. Yet it is personal and intimate. The Saviour’s direction ‘continue ye in my love’ does not imply creature strength but encouragement to believe, trust and depend upon Christ’s love at all times. 

Unchanging love

Nor does the Saviour’s comment, ‘If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love’, mean His love is variable or conditional on our obedience. The outward evidence of God’s grace towards us is our obedience because of our union with Christ. Conversion is proof of His continuing love in and for us. Our changed heart and soul will keep us in His love. By His grace, and for His glory, He never will lose us. We shall persevere in His service, we shall follow His direction and we shall maintain our union with Him. 

Satisfying love

We are indissolubly united to our Saviour on the grounds of His everlasting love for us. This is the joy of Christ’s Bride. The Lord Jesus tells us this as He prepares for His imminent death and departure. Even in the most trying times of life there will be joy and peace for us of which Christ is both author and object. No matter what, there will always be reason to rejoice in Him. Believers are not immune from sadness, depression, anxiety, yet even in the most trying experiences there is spiritual joy, comfort and peace to be found in the Lord Jesus who will never leave us nor forsake His own dear people.

Transforming love

Furthermore, this love is multi-dimensional. Our Lord will have His people live out their experience of His love by following His example and loving each other. This is the enabling power of transforming grace. The Lord frequently called His disciples to love one another and here He describes the epitome of sacrificial love when He speaks of laying down one’s life for a friend. Actually, the Saviour is about to excel even this in dying for His enemies. It was while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

Motivating love

Having reconciled us to Himself the Lord calls us His friends. He has confided in His friends about the purpose of His Father’s will, the nature and scope of the gospel, the meaning of His death and the plan of redemption. Now He calls His people to follow His example and share in His cause, not upon the grounds of duty, but in love, gratitude and friendship. Christ’s love has freed us from the chains of sin, delivered us from enmity, raised us beyond the role of servant, called us to be His friends and joined us in marriage to Himself. 

Electing love

No doubt the Lord’s disciples consented to be His followers but the Lord Jesus here insists their election and appointment to their office was His choice first. He chose them before they chose Him. He called them to be His disciples and apostles; to follow Him, to preach His Gospel and be fishers of men. He equipped them to the task and fitted them for His service. These men were ordained to serve the Lord according to God’s plan and purpose.  

Unconditional love

This is an important principle of grace and it is consistent also with God’s sovereign will and purpose in election to salvation. Ordination to eternal life, like ordination to service, is God’s prior choice. It is freely and unconditionally made by God without consideration of an individual’s merit, character or condition. God’s elect are chosen to salvation and ordained to eternal life at His good pleasure and according to His will.

Efficacious love

The Lord had ordained the success of the apostles’ ministry. His church would be gathered through their fruitful activity and He would ensure the provision of everything necessary to accomplish their task and His will. Whatever they needed to complete their great commission was simply to be asked for and it would be supplied. Only let them love one another in their common cause, which request is repeated here for the third time.

Amen.