| In 2 Cor. 5:14 Paul goes on to say, "For the love of Christ constrains us." Once again the word "for" indicates a connection, a continuation. We are ambitious to please the Lord, for His love is constraining us. The love of Christ in verse 14 is the love which was manifested on the cross through His death for us. The Greek word rendered constrains literally means presses on from all sides, holding to one end, forcibly limiting, confining to one object within certain bounds, shutting up to one line and purpose, as in a narrow, walled road. The same Greek word is used in Luke 4:38; 12:50; Acts 18:5; and Philippians 1:23. In such a way the apostles were constrained by the love of Christ to live to Him and to be well-pleasing to Him. We have seen that to be constrained means to be pressed from all sides and held to one end. When we are constrained, we are limited, as if walking on a narrow, walled road, and forced to go in a certain direction. Although we love the Lord, we are not always willing to take His way. Without being walled in by Him, we probably would have escaped from Christ and the church. But the love of Christ constrains us; it presses us from every side and holds us to one goal. We have no other way. There is no other way for us to take. Actually, this is not our choice. If the choice had truly been ours, we all would probably be somewhere else today. No, it is not up to us to make the choice; it is the love of Christ that constrains us. According to 5:14 and 15, the love of Christ constrains us to live to Him. Verse 15 says, "And He died on behalf of all, that those who live may no longer live to themselves, but to Him Who died for them and has been raised." If we would live to the Lord, we must deny our outward man. The outward man is the flesh. When we live to Christ, we do not live by our outward man, by our flesh. This means that living to Christ requires that we live by our inward man, by our regenerated spirit. (Life-Study of 2 Corinthians, pp.317-318,319-320) |
