John14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

The Greek word for “ye love” is agapao not agape with is God’s perfect love. More on that later.

Too often we measure our love capacity for God in our ability to obey His commandments. We do this forgetting that Jesus did away with the law as a requirement for a relationship with God. Since the Greek form here is a noun, this isn’t a matter of action. The verb in this sentence is keep, not love.

Many of us get caught up in the issues that they believe they “have to do”. In doing this they become legalistic and start placing demands on others. This attitude steals the freedom which Christ gives to us thru faith grace. Every demand we place on ourselves becomes a barrier in coming closer to God.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

This is the key to God’s agape love, His perfect love, is a dwelling place, an abode. If we abide in Him and He abides in us, we abide together in perfect love. This is not something which is within our ability to perform, it is perfect. Yet Christ who is perfect dwells with us and He is perfect in performance of love.

One of the most important aspects of loving relationships is shared experiences, doing things together. How do I rewrite John 14:15 in relationship to agapao and be respectful to the intimacy with which God’s perfect love becomes an active participant in those things which you can do thru obedience of faith? I tried and do not have the words to use, but I would begin with removing the word “if”.

Christ is only asking for our cooperation in this relationship. He knows what needs to be done, He has the power to do what needs to be done. He is only asking for our cooperation.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Leviticus 11:45 For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

This is one of the most difficult of all scriptures in Christendom to believe. I know what I am and what I’ve done, and continue to do that is far from holy. From my perspective I am not holy.

What about God’s perspective? This one statement contains all the elements of the simple gospel if we but look at it from God’s viewpoint.

The land of Egypt here represents a life of sin, under a cruel task master. The Lord brought Israel out by the power of His might, with no effort on Israel’s part. His assertion that they shall be holy, is not a plea for effort upon their part for there is nothing in man that is found righteous much less holy.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Be holy is not a plea for man’s effort but rather a declaration, you are holy, in God’s eyes. Why, because no sin can come before Him and to have a love relationship our sin has to be dealt with. We will deal with that issue in a Just God.

Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

God declares us holy for His own sake, so that we might come before Him and love Him.

If He didn’t we wouldn’t get there.