THE LOVE OF THE CHRIST
Alastair S Pittman
Ephesians 3: 19 (to “knowledge”)
We read this scripture in the house this morning about “the love of the Christ”, “and to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge”. Do you know something of “the love of the Christ”? It is more wonderful than I can speak adequately about. The scripture says that it “surpasses knowledge”, so it would be impossible to compass it or to cover the fulness of it, but I am sure, as the scripture says, it is there to be known, although it is beyond knowledge. It cannot be exhausted and it is beyond what is even comparable with natural love, “the love of the Christ”. We often think of this scripture and think of it as love towards me, love towards saints, but it goes further than that, no doubt, love towards His God and Father, the love of the will of His God and Father, love that meant He went that way, “the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge”.
But I wish just to speak about it in the gospel preaching as to how that love is towards us, towards each one. It is available to you. I wonder, beloved, if you have experienced the love of the Christ. Is it something which has affected your soul? At the end of the reading, a brother remarked how we speak not according to intelligence, but what impulse is given is given according to affection, and I wondered, beloved, what place has Christ in your heart. Very simply, what place does Christ have in your heart? Do you love Jesus? How simple a question it is! Is He someone that you give room to, who has a place in your heart? The youngest one knows the simplicity of the question. Does Jesus have His place in your heart? Is He someone that you speak to? Do you love Him? Do you have that relationship with Him because you know that He went to the cross for you? If you know that, then you know something of “the love of the Christ”. How precious it is! You may say this is such an elevated scripture, “to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge; that ye may be filled even to all the fulness of God”. Have you experienced something of that, even if you know it in measure as a simple believer? How precious it is; how available are God’s wondrous thoughts to us. The simplest brother or sister can know them, know them for ourselves in reality in our heart. How precious it is!
Jesus is, as we know, in His own Person, the One “who is over all, God blessed for ever” (Rom 9: 5), but not only that, He expresses God, as Man, in the fullest and most complete way. The scripture I have in mind as to that is that He is “the effulgence of” God’s “glory and the expression of his substance”, Heb 1: 3. What does that mean and how does that relate to this scripture, “the love of the Christ”? Well, God’s nature is love; that is what it is. It is not just an attribute or a characteristic - no doubt it is seen in all that He does - but His very nature is love, and it is expressed in a substantial way in Jesus Himself. Think of that, because He is God! How perfect it is that God’s love, His very nature, is seen in Jesus! Think of Jesus in His perfection! We sometimes sing that hymn, how precious it is:
O God of all Thy wondrous plan,
Divine perfection in a Man! (Hymn 20)
Look at that hymn and think about ‘Divine perfection in a Man’ and contrast that with yourself as well - very far from perfect, but it is far more than that. Even the expression of divine love was there in perfection, the absolute perfection of everything which was seen in Jesus. There was much more than just the difference between what is right and wrong; everything that was displayed in Jesus was in perfection. Think of what a Man He is, how He was able to express God’s very nature in a world which was entirely against Him. What did the world’s rejection do? Did that turn Him aside? No, it brought out the depths of that devotion and perfection of that love in a fuller and deeper way, that we might appreciate it more.
“The love of the Christ” is supposed to affect you; it is supposed to be appealing. It shows God’s love in its fulness, which is why I read in Romans 5, wonderful scripture, very well known, that “God commends his love to us”. Think of how wonderful that is that God does not demand, or command us to respond to His love, or any such thing, but He is commending it. He is showing it in its display and He is saying, ‘This is my love; it is seen in Jesus; I commend it to you, not because you are a good man, far be the thought’. It says, “in the due time Christ has died for the ungodly. For scarcely for the just man will one die, for perhaps for the good man some one might also dare to die; but God commends his love to us, in that, we being still sinners, Christ has died for us”. It was not when we were believers, or when we were going to the meeting, or breaking bread or any of these things. It was not when we turned over a new leaf and might somehow thought we were better. It was when we were “still sinners” that Christ died for us. We were far from God, as far away as we could be; you might say, a chasm between us. That is when Christ died for us. Does that commend itself to you? It was not when we were thinking about Christ or anything like that. No! It was when we were afar off. That is when Christ died for us, and it is commended. God in His grace shows it. He says, ‘Take account! Look what has been done! What do you think?’. He shows it to you in the most gracious and blessed and attractive way and says, ‘What do you think? I am commending it to you’.
Well, beloved, what do you think? Think of that question Pilate asked, “What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?”, Matt 27: 22. Well, God is commending His love to you. The question is still there. What have you done with Jesus? What have you done? Where is He in your heart? He is commended. It is not for a good man; it is not for a just man, so that we might think, ‘Well, it was because we were good that Christ did that’. No! It is, “we being still sinners, Christ has died for us”. Beloved, I wonder if that commends itself to you. Think about divine love! It is so different from natural love. Natural love may be dreadfully transactional. If someone does something good to you, you do something good back and if somebody is not very nice, you may perhaps sadly not be very nice in return. God’s love is not like that; it is commended to us. Whilst we were far from God, “still sinners”. The note in Ephesians 2 is very affecting. The verse is about us: “Wherefore remember that ye, once nations in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that called circumcision in the flesh done with the hand; that ye were at that time without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world”, v 11, 12. What a position! Note ‘h’ to verse 12 says, ‘atheists”. That is what we were, “without God in the world”. Do not think you are any better than that! That is where we were, “we being still sinners Christ has died for us”. What a Man He is!
The Lord Jesus came into this scene, and I wanted to just touch on the enduring character of His love. The aspect I wish to touch on is that, no matter what happened, and man’s contrary nature towards Christ, He still went on in love for men, in love for me. It says in Psalm 109, “And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love”. Think of the Lord Jesus coming into this scene of His own accord. He came of His own will:
Behold, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me -
To do thy good pleasure, my God, Ps 40: 7, 8.
He came into this scene, His own action, as a Babe. Think of the greatness of who He was, yet He came into the scene at its weakest point, as a Babe, but what He became never took away from who He is, the greatness of who He is. But whilst He was here, was there any reason at all why men would have rejected Him except that their works were dark and they hated them being brought to the light? What a thing it is that the nature of man is so against Christ that “they have rewarded me evil for good”. It says in Acts He “went through all quarters doing good”, chap 10: 38. He is harmless, a harmless Man, “holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners” (Heb 7: 26), completely harmless. He would never have done anyone any harm.
There was an affecting touch in the preaching a few weeks ago about Jairus’s daughter. They say, “Thy daughter has died, why troublest thou the teacher any further?” Mark 5: 35. The brother said it was no trouble, no trouble for the Teacher. Nothing was too much trouble for Jesus; He would have gone farther. He went to see Jairus’s daughter and He raised her. It was no trouble to Jesus!
He “endured so great contradiction from sinners against himself”, Heb 12: 3. What He endured! Think of the enduring character of what Jesus went through, how He must have felt the rejection of His own people: “He came to his own, and his own received him not”, John 1: 11. They were looking for some wonderful display of majesty, which was there, but they wanted it on their terms, some great pomp and ceremony, but this was the son of the carpenter, a carpenter in a lowly dwelling in Nazareth, growing up a Man amongst men, a Man who would have had a neighbour, a Man that desired no reputation and no place. That was who Jesus was. He “did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on an equality with God; but emptied himself”, Phil 2: 6, 7. Think of the condition into which Jesus came, a Man in flesh and blood conditions that we might have claim upon Him. That is why He came as a Man that you might have claim upon Him, that you might be saved. What a position He took, how available. The beggar on the street would call out and He would stop and stand still and that beggar got up. He would do no one any harm. He was treading out the full will of God in perfection, and He stood still. Think of Him standing still for Bartimaeus, Mark 10: 49. He touched the leper, handled him freely, Mark 1: 41. Well, He is available to all; He is available to you. What the love of the Christ had to endure from men! What a love it is! How can we speak of it? It is too great to speak of it, but it should commend itself and it should soften our hearts that “hatred” was rewarded for His love. Hatred! Think of that! It was not just a disregard for it; it was a bitter hatred.
We come to Matthew 27 and we see the end of the Lord Jesus’s public service in His life here. What a way for the Prince of life! What it demonstrates as to man! You look at every verse of this section. I do not think there is a verse where someone does not attack and try to divert Christ from that pathway He was on. Think of what it meant! Even Peter had said, “This shall in no wise be unto thee”, Matt 16: 22. And Jesus said, “Get away behind me, Satan”, v 23. All was the enemy’s work to deflect Christ. What meekness and what lowliness was seen in Christ. When they took His clothes off and put the scarlet cloak on Him, He just accepted it, even what it meant to have that scarlet cloak, and someone put that crown of thorns upon His head. Think about that! We are used to these terms, but someone would have taken the time and trouble to make that crown of thorns. What hatred is in the heart of man against Christ! Someone would have made it, even harmed themselves with these thorns, as they wove them together to make that crown. That is how much dedication, you may say, man has shown against Christ. Did that divert Christ? Did that change His love? For a mere man that would be beyond the pale, such insults when serving in such a way, but not Jesus. What was the answer to man’s malice, man’s hatred? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”, Luke 23: 34. What a Man He is! What enduring love and suffering He went through!
Think of the whole band that was gathered against Him at the praetorium. There would have been about 120 men, heavily armed soldiers, standing round Jesus. What He went through! How terrifying it would have been, but He was standing there with these people round Him, and then they mocked Him in this way, putting a crown of thorns upon His head and a reed in His right hand; “and, bowing the knee before him, they mocked him”. Think of who they are mocking! This is Jesus; this is my Saviour; this is the King of kings, God in His own Person. “Hail, King of the Jews! And having spit upon him, they took the reed and beat him on his head”. What they did to the Saviour, but He “endured so great contradiction from sinners against himself”, Heb 12: 3. He still went through: what a Man He is! Does it not commend itself to you, beloved, that the love of the Christ should go this way for you?
“And when they had mocked him, they took the cloak off him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify”. They took Him to the place of a skull. “They gave to him to drink vinegar mingled with gall; and having tasted it, he would not drink. And having crucified him, they parted his clothes amongst themselves, casting lots. And sitting down, they kept guard over him there”. Think of the callousness of that, “sitting down” as though, you may say, this was another casual day. This is what they would routinely do. What a dark scene, not one ray of light, the chief priests mocking. They were the ones that were supposed to intercede for the guilty. That was their role. They were to intercede for the guilty, but they delivered up the Guiltless. What a thing it is! What Jesus would have felt! Think of Pilate himself washing his hands. He knew that Jesus was innocent; he knew that He had done nothing wrong. His own words testify to it; his wife’s words testify to it as well (v 19); yet he washed his hands publicly, demonstrating that he knew what he was doing was wrong in delivering up innocent blood. And Jesus carried on and accepted it.
“The passers-by reviled him”, and the two robbers. “He was reckoned with the lawless”, Mark 15: 28. This is the One who had never done anything wrong. “This man has done nothing amiss” (Luke 23: 41), but “he was reckoned with the lawless”, given the judgment of a common criminal. Still Jesus went on. Then the mocking comes further. They could have well said, ‘Well, He is now on the cross, just leave it be; it is done now’. No, the mocking still continues: “Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou art Son of God, descend from the cross. And in like manner the chief priests also, mocking”. What behaviour for the chief priests! And they said, “He saved others, himself he cannot save”. Well, how true that was! It was not because of what they were saying, not in the manner that they would say, but because, as we sang in our hymn,
Love’s stream too deeply flowed (Hymn 240)
If we ever were to have mercy from God, if we ever were to come to know this One as our Saviour, if we ever were to enter into God’s thoughts and designs for us, and God’s thoughts for mankind, and that there might be an inheritance for God Himself, ‘Himself He could not save’, He had to go that way.
Himself He could not save,
He on the cross must die
There was no other way. The perfection of His life is not sufficient for the redemption of any one of us. He had to die. He had to die in this way. He had to be lifted up and He had to die. He accepted that terrible cup too, accepted it from the Father. What it meant for Jesus! Psalm 22 is very affecting.
Our fathers confided in thee: they confided, and thou didst deliver them.
They cried unto thee, and were delivered; they confided in thee, and were not confounded, v 4, 5.
It is a psalm of David and he is writing about “our fathers”, obviously the previous generation or those in the past. They had trusted in God and were delivered. Jesus was not. He cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” There were those that “were delivered” and “were not confounded”; Jesus was forsaken. That is what had to happen to Jesus. He was abandoned, these three hours of darkness without one ray of light, but Jesus had to bear the judgment.
The sufferings from man, awful as they were, are not to be compared with the sufferings from God, the wrath of God poured out upon the head of Jesus, and Jesus accepted that. He took it because He knew it was His Father’s will. He says, “not my will, but thine be done”, Luke 22: 42. In John’s gospel it says, “but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has commanded me, thus I do. Rise up, let us go hence”, chap 14: 31. Just before the crucifixion He accepted that that was the Father’s will, and He loved to do the Father’s will. What a terrible thing it was for Jesus! Have you thought about what it cost Jesus to bear your sins “in his body on the tree” (1 Pet 2: 24), what it meant for Jesus to bear those sins? It is beyond what we can understand and what we can fathom. There was darkness over the whole land to obscure it, but there Jesus bore those sins “in his body on the tree” and was made sin. He was made it. He confessed and bore those sins as if they were His own. What a thing that is! Think of Jesus having to bear those sins as though they were His own, the wrath of God poured out upon His head. What God thinks about sins! We are so accustomed to the dispensation of grace, and it appears that sin abounds without immediate judgement, and despite has no doubt often been done to the dispensation of God’s grace without regard as to God’s view as to sin. But at this point, in those three hours of darkness, Jesus bore in His body those sins of mine, every single one. What a terrible thing! Think of hymn 238:
My sins - O the bliss of this glorious thought -
My sins - not in part, but the whole -
Were borne on the cross, and are gone evermore.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Your soul does praise the Lord when you think about it. You think about Him removing that dreadful debt; Jesus did that. It was between Jesus and His God when the forsaking happened.
After that, He “gave up the ghost”, went into death, and in John’s gospel we have it written as to His blood being shed. Think of that! On the one hand there was the most dreadful darkness in man. Christ had died, it was the callousness of man, pointless in itself, to come along and pierce the side of a dead Christ. What a thing that was for that man to do. Why? It just showed brutality against Christ even when dead, but what was the divine answer? “Immediately there came out blood and water”, John 19: 34. Think of that, the blood which can cleanse from every sin: “without blood-shedding there is no remission”, Heb 9: 22. The blood has been shed and it has been seen by God, and myriads have sheltered under it. Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? We read about the Lamb in the reading, “a Lamb standing as slain”, Rev 5: 6. Think of that! What a contradiction, you may say. How can something be standing which was slain? But it was standing, and it is seen in the heavens upon the throne “standing as slain”. It reminds you of Samson: there were more slain in his death than in his life, Judg 16: 30. What a victory Jesus secured in going into death and rising again, three days and three nights in the grave, and then rising again, now a living, exalted, glorious Man. His love is still the same. His love would be towards you now. The love of the Christ is still the same; it has never changed; it can never change; it is inexhaustible. It is something rich, beyond words to speak about, but it is there and it is there for you to experience. He would plead to you that if there is any here who does not know Him as Saviour that you would come to know Him. What a heart of love Jesus has! He has time for you. There is nothing too much trouble.
I wanted to touch in closing on this very testing scripture in 2 Corinthians 5, “For the love of the Christ constrains us”. What a thing that is, the love of the Christ constraining! Think of its power that holds us! It is not a restraint; it is constraint. It is the attractive holding power of Christ. Is Christ attractive to you? Is His love attractive to you? Is it something which is a wondrous attraction and pull on you? That is His constraining power. “Having judged this: that one died for all, then all have died; and he died for all, that they who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who died for them and has been raised”. Well, we cannot do that in our own power. It must be through the gift of the Holy Spirit to know the enjoyment of this life, a life on the other side of death.
It is a wonderful thing to consider that when Christ was raised from the dead there was new life. The order of man goes through, and there is a new life. Think about the condition that was laid down but that Man has gone through, and we live in the power of that life. How precious that is! It says in the beginning of Peter, He “has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead”, 1 Pet 1: 3. Think of being “begotten … again”. There is something in you that is entirely new; it is a new creation; it is entirely new. It is not turning over a new leaf; it is entirely new, of God, and that “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”. Do you realise your link is with Him on the other side of death? What a precious thing that is to consider that your link is with a Man in the glory, an exalted Man, living in heaven, and the Spirit here gives you the enjoyment of that. He is “the earnest of our inheritance”, Eph 1: 14. What a power, and what blessing we have been brought into through the gift of the Holy Spirit!
I trust that all will have a distinctive impression as to “the love of the Christ”, and that there might be results from it, for His Name’s sake.
Loanhead
7th September 2025