Love is unconditional. if there is ANY condition on love, then it’s not true love. This concept might sound foreign to some , but its the truth. When Jesus laid His life down for all of humanity was there any strings attached, No! He only asked of one thing, if you want to go to heaven, then believe in Him. He showed us the way to believe in Him, but today it’s reduced to saying a prayer. Jesus and all the disciples taught to repent and be baptized into the Name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.
I want to share this with you what the Lord shared with me. I have never heard anyone else speak of this, but it’s regarding 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. When you read the verses below, you will find that love is about how you react. When you are walking in love, your reaction is key to this walk. How you respond wants to grab a hold of you, but when you react in love,, it can’t touch you. Jesus also talked about this in Matthew 5 on how you are to react to what comes against you.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails;
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
I have been discussing how you respond to situations with love unconditionally. This is where the sword of the spirit comes in. Many have the presumption that it’s a weapon that we use against the enemy. It is, but not in a way that you think. The sword of the spirit is the words that come out of your mouth, Your words can cut down or build up. If you respond to situations with the fruits of the spirit, then you are using the sword property and it will work well for you. If it is used in any other way than how Jesus used it against the devil in the wilderness, then you don’t know how to use the sword.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Revelation 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.
You may think to yourself, well that was Jesus , but we use the sword different. i beg to differ. The same sword is used to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.
Responding in love is the key to out growth. Why? As Jesus has told us, you will know a tree by it’s fruit, what comes out of their mouth.
Luke 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Proverbs 13:2 A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.
John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.