The “love” we seek and desire to give is God’s agape – the purposeful commitment to sacrificial action on behalf of others. Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf was motivated by His Will and Love:
“. . . God demonstrates His own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 NIV
It is impossible for us “to love” (agapeo) as God agapes. BUT as born again believers, we are now able to understand the things of God.
“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things
that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him,
and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
I Corinthians 2:14 NIV
As believers, we have the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, within us. Not only do we have understanding, we possess His power to manifest the spiritual fruits in and with our lives.
Love (agape) is the first fruit of the Spirit, followed by joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galations 5:22-23a). Have you ever heard a believer say, “Don’t pray for patience or you’ll get it through a trial.” Yet as believers we are quick to pray for joy and peace – things we want to receive from God to offset the difficulties of life.
All the fruits of the Spirit are characteristics of God Himself, which He has freely endowed us with by His indwelling Spirit. These fruits ripen as we mature spiritually, and are evidenced by our purposeful commitment to obey God because we love Him.
“And this is love:
that we walk in obedience to His commands.
As you have heard from the beginning,
His command is that you walk in love.”
2 John 1:6 NIV
"For the love of Christ compels us,
because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
and He died for all,
that those who live should live no longer
for themselves,
but for Him who died
for them and rose again."
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NKJV
