Hebrews 1:3a Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power,

I know I have truncated this verse but I did so to point to the expression of the person, Jesus Christ. We were talking yesterday about knowing the indwelling love of God. Today’s I would like to talk about expressing that love.

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

This love Jesus is referring to here is the abiding love. A lost world does not have the indwelling love, cannot feel it, cannot know it, but can witness how love acts, how love expresses itself, by watching how we love one another. This is critical in our witness. If we cannot express this love towards one another who are all in the body of Christ, we look like hypocrites, and they will not be attracted to His love.

Imagine if you will that this indwelling love expression is like a foreign language. The sound of it is attractive. The expressions of the language are intriguing and a desire to know this language is expressed in a non-believer. If you look at placing faith in Jesus Christ as enrolling in the love language course, then you begin with the rudimentary elements of the language, structure, rules, context and form. It is a new language, it has to be learned.

All novice students make mistakes and the instructor, the Holy Spirit in this case, has to make corrections. The ability to express this love language comes thru a comprehensive understand of the express image of God, Jesus Christ. The better you know Christ in an intimate personal relationship, the better you can express His love language.

Knowing Him in truth and power unlocks the key to releasing His love thru our expression of that love.

1 John 2:5 But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him: AMPC

How does this emphatic translation compare to other translations?

But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. KJ21

but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: ESV

But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: NIV

I have to admit the AMPC, the Classic Amplified bible, is emphatic in its version of 1 John 2:5. What I see is an expression of depth of relationship. It is almost not enough to say I love God. A simple word cannot fully express the depth of anyone’s love. Here we are not speaking about our love for God but rather His love in us. That abiding love of 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.

God is love, so therefore if you abide in Christ, you abide in His love. Simple enough, yet to say I love is inadequate to express that reality. So how can we fully express perfect love in this imperfect form, our own humanity?

Ephesians 3:19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! AMPC