As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
12And
may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love toward one another and
toward everyone, just as we to you, 13into the establishment of your
hearts [to be] blameless in holiness before the God and our Father in [the]
coming of our Lord Jesus with all His holy ones.
“Increase and abound in love.” I am amazed just how much the
Lord emphasizes the importance of love. I’ve been studying the Bible my entire
life, yet it seems like it’s only been in the last ten years I’ve begun to see
just how central to it all is this thing called love. It’s been there all
along, of course, in book after book, passage after passage. This is even the
second time I’ve studied through I Thessalonians, and here it is, falling off
the page in front of me, but I didn’t see it before.
Here is Paul writing to these people whom he himself dearly
loves. He prays the Lord would allow him to see them again and to supply “what
is lacking in their faith,” and what does he wish for them? That they might “increase
and abound in love.”
How could we miss it? “God is love.” “Though I speak with
the tongues of men and angels and have not love, I am nothing.” The two great
commands are “to love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself. On these
hang all the Law and the Prophets.” “The fruit of the Spirit is love.” “Owe no
man anything but the continuing debt to love one another.” “All that matters is
faith expressing itself through love.” “Be imitators of God, therefore, as
dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved you.”
Frankly, I think it has been my legalism that blinded me to
this centrality of love. “Faith” was too much about so many externals. Christianity
was too much about all the rules and “principles” and “applications.” Then finally
I really realized Christianity is about Christ.
It’s about knowing Him, about a life
of sitting at His feet and just letting my heart get lost in the wonder of who
He is. In His face, I find myself loved beyond my wildest imagination. In His
face, I find a kindness that melts my heart. I find there His grace – this love
that has engulfed me in spite of the fact I utterly don’t deserve it. In His
face, I even realize just how much I have totally failed Him, and yet that
realization doesn’t depress me – it only sweeps me deeper into His arms as I realize
His love transcends even that. And as my heart lies engulfed in His gracious
love, I find it moves me to do two things – to graciously love the people He’s
put around me, and to extricate from my life anything that would displease this
wonderful, kind Master. “Oh to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer.”
And here it is in the passage before us. The passage tells
us a lot about love. Back in v11, I failed to point out an amazing fact one can
only see in the Greek. It said, “May the God and our Father Himself and our Lord
Jesus direct our way to you.” What is amazing is that the subject of the
sentence would grammatically be considered plural – “our Father and our Lord
Jesus” – but the verb “to direct” is actually singular. It is like saying “They is …” It doesn’t “work” in
English. But the fact is, “they is.” The Father and the Son are One. The same
thing happens in the opening verse of the Bible. In English it says, “In the
beginning, God created.” The word “God” is actually plural, yet “created” in the
Hebrew is a singular verb. Once again, “they is.” There is throughout the Bible
this plurality within the Godhead, what we call the Trinity. Volumes could be (and
have been) written on the subject,
but realize that underneath it all, the Trinity itself is the very expression
of love. God’s very essence precludes the possibility of being a “loner.” His
very essence is a plurality of Persons functioning as One. The love of a
husband and his wife makes them a plurality of persons who learn to function as
one – “and they two shall become one flesh.” “God is love” and godliness is to “increase
and abound in love.”
Note in v12, it comes from God. It is Him who “makes us to
increase and abound in love.” We don’t “womp” it up. It comes from God and we’ll
find it only at Jesus’ feet. Note it is something that does “increase and
abound.” In 4:9,10, Paul commends the Thessalonians’ love then says, “Yet we
urge you, brothers, to do so more and more." Love is not some kind of
destination or an endpoint to be achieved. It is a pattern to be ever enlarged
and expanded. Note it is a love “for one another.” I’m reminded of the pastor
who said he loved the ministry, “it’s just the people I can’t stand.” Love isn’t
something we’re saving up for somebody out there somewhere. Love received from
the heart of Jesus looks around and longs to show itself to everyone within arm’s
reach. One man actually realized there was something seriously deficient in his
faith when he spent an hour in church loudly praising God, then yelled at his
wife all the way home in the car. God’s love embraces those closest to us.
Then note it is “for everyone.” Once again, this is a grace
thing. As I lie in the warmth of my Savior’s engulfing unconditional love for
me, how can I not wish to love everyone? “And I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto Me,”
Jesus said. “For God so loved the world
…” “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also
for the sins of the whole world.” “Therefore,
as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men …” God’s grace would draw all
men. And when it enters my heart, I would too. Note this increasing abounding
love is “just as we to you.” It is a modeled love. Because Paul’s love was
grace love, because it was a love not that he had conjured up but one that was
actually the overflow of God’s love to him – because it was grace love, it was
worth imitating. May the same be true of us.
Verse 13 continues to expound on this subject of an
increasing, abounding love. I think this is enough for one post, so I’ll write
more as soon as I can.
But, for myself and for anyone who stumbles across my feeble
scratchings, may the Lord make your love to increase and abound. May His love
in you flow like a river into the hearts of the people He has placed around
you. May His grace conquer our sin and make in us a world of love.
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