Word of Encouragement (8/31/2021)
Let’s continue our reflection on Paul’s prayer in Phlm. 1:4-7: “I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.”
There are two things, for which Paul gives thanks: Philemon’s love and faith. About this, John Gill says, “...they always go together, and are inseparable from each other: there cannot be true faith where love is wanting, for faith works by love; and there cannot be real love, where there is not faith; they only love the saints aright, who love them in the faith, and because of it; and these graces are visible, and to be known by their fruits, whereby they come to be heard of, and talked of, as these in Philemon were.”
As Gill says, faith and love are often mentioned together. Paul says in Gal. 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” He also says in Eph. 6:23, “Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul gives thanks for the Ephesians “because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints” (1:15). He does the same for the Colossians: “we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints...” (1:4). He also speaks of “the good news of your [i.e., the Thessalonians’] faith and love” (1 Thess. 3:6; also, 2 Thess. 1:3). You get the idea.
Why are the two so closely connected? What is the relationship between the two? Although it’s not as obvious in this prayer as in other passages, the object of faith is usually God and the object of love is usually other fellow saints. Of course, this doesn’t mean that our faith in God does not involve our love for Him. To believe in God is to love Him because He is most worthy of love. (The demons believe in God enough to shudder [James 2:19] but their faith is not genuine, and it cannot save them because they have no love for God.) Similarly, our love toward our fellow saints involves faith as well: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). So, to put faith with God and love with our fellow saints is a matter of emphasis, not mutual exclusivity.
Today, let’s just note that faith and love are closely connected because God and man are closely connected. Man was made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26, 27) while all other creatures were made according to their kinds (Gen. 1:21, 24, 25). If we misuse or abuse God’s creation, any part of it, we dishonor and offend God, who created it and delighted in it. It is all the more so if we mistreat our fellow human beings, who bear the image of God. Far worse is to mistreat and abuse Christians, who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and are deeply loved by God. So, we cannot say we believe in God and hate those, who bear His image, especially those who are saved by the sacrificial love of God’s Son. James shows a sinful use of our tongue in this way: “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God” (3:9).
Today, let us affirm our faith in God, in our triune God, who is love. And let us look around and see all the people God has sent in our way to love and care for. Let us pray that the Lord would help us to love them. May the Lord be pleased to build us up as a community known for our strong faith in God and our sacrificial love for one another!