Chatper 4: Ministering in the Great Love of the Lord

Bible Reading: John 21:1-17

We have already mentioned that the Gospel of Matthew points out the need to minister in the Lord’s presence. The Gospel of Mark points out the need to minister with the Lord’s co-working while The Gospel of Luke points out the need to minister in the Lord’s blessing. If we put to practice these three ways of ministry which were revealed to us by the Lord, then the Lord’s work will naturally expand and the church will move forward. However, there is the danger that the church might imperceptibly fall into the ministry and eventually, lose the Lord Himself.

When the old Apostle John wrote the Gospel of John, his concluding verse found in chapter 20:31 says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.” This verse was meant to conclude his gospel book, yet the Holy Spirit inspired him to write another chapter as supplement. The reason was that before this gospel book was concluded, the Lord Jesus had not yet given His entrustments to the disciples, nor had He pointed out the way of ministry to them. Hence, chapter 21 stands as an independent chapter. This means that the main gist of the Gospel of John is about “faith”, yet its conclusion is about “love.” As a matter of fact, the three preceding gospel books all emphasize on “faith.” One needs faith in order to enjoy the Lord’s presence. Without faith, one cannot expect the Lord’s co-working. One needs faith, all the more, to obtain the Lord’s blessings. Because if there is faith, then there will be the presence of the Lord, the co-working of the Lord, as well as the blessings of the Lord. Nonetheless, how easy it is for one to unconsciously fall into the norms of work. The work itself may become a great temptation to the point that one may be ensnared by it and totally lose the Lord Himself. That is why John took care in reminding us that we really need to minister in the great love of the Lord.

The Gospel of John chapter 21 mentions how Jesus had entrusted Peter with the commission of shepherding the flock. This means that He had entrusted the commission of the ministry to His disciples. At the same time, He also pointed out the way of ministry, which is to minister in the great love of the Lord. It is only by ministering in the Lord’s great love that His presence will be felt. Having the Lord as the object of our ministry is to treasure the Lord Himself. It is because we love the Lord Jesus that we serve Him. In other words, it is in response to the Lord’s love that we love Him back and serve Him. Just like during the singing of hymns in our church meetings, when the Holy Spirit pours down the Lord’s great love so densely, all of us are filled with this great love to the extent that we are constrained, we are enveloped, and we are moved to offer up our heart’s desire to Him and say, “Lord, we want to serve You in Your great love.” With regard to how we ought to minister in the great love of the Lord, due to space constraint, we will just be mentioning a few of its contents.

1. Loving the Lord is a Requirement to Serving the Lord

   John clearly spoke in his gospel that loving the Lord is the most basic requirement in serving the Lord. The reasons are as follows:

   1. Before the Lord Entrusted Peter with the Ministry, He Required Peter to First Love Him

      The Gospel of John 21 mentions how the Lord used His multi-faceted great love to restore the seven disciples who had gone back to the world. These seven disciples had once pledged their desire to follow the Lord all their lives and to serve Him. But after the Lord Jesus was crucified, they were disheartened and their hearts grew cold.

      That day, at dawn, just when the seven disciples had laboured all night but caught nothing, and were now heading back to the shore, Jesus Himself came and sought them. With a love that loves them in secret, a love that cares, and a love that is full of concern, He stood and waited on the shore ready to bestow grace upon them. Upon returning to the shore, the disciples received provisions from the Lord’s love. They were constrained by the Lord’s great love. They were conquered by His great love. Once again, they returned to the Lord’s great love. It was then that the Lord Jesus entrusted His disciples the commission of shepherding His flock.

      Peter often acted as the representative of the disciples. Hence the Lord asked Peter three times, “Simon, son of John, do you truly love Me more than these?” For all these three times, Peter expressed his love for the Lord by answering, “Lord, you know that I love you.” The Lord then entrusted him the commission of feeding His lambs, taking care of His sheep, and feeding His sheep. “Three” is God’s number, and it means that one must love the Lord with the love from God, and serve the Lord with the love from God. It is because man’s love changes constantly while God’s love remains the same. For three times the Lord reminded Peter to love Him. This clearly shows that we must serve the Lord with the love from God.

      Who then are the ones who can touch ministry? Who then are the ones who can accept the commission of the ministry? The only requirement here is that he must be one who truly loves the Lord.

   2. The Song of Solomon Reminds Us to Look After Our Own Vineyard

      The Old Testament book of the Song of Songs speaks of the relationship between the lover and his beloved. The lover symbolizes Jesus Christ while the beloved symbolizes Christians. This pair of lovers who are so intimately in love with each other symbolizes the love relationship between us Christians and the Lord Jesus. From the very beginning of the first chapter, it has been made clear how the beloved was drawn by the love of her lover. This symbolizes that we too are being constrained by the great love of the Lord; we are being drawn by His immense love.

      The Song of Songs begins with the beloved telling the lover, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is more delightful than wine.” (Songs 1:2) The words “kiss”, “wine” and “love” all describe the fullness of the experiences of love.

      The beloved then poured her heart out to the lover saying, “They made me take care of the vineyards; my vineyard I have neglected.” Here it speaks of two kinds of vineyard. “My vineyard” refers to the place where our spirit enters into intimate fellowship with the Lord. If our heart treasures the Lord Jesus and loves Him, we will get intimate with the Lord to the extent that the lover (Jesus) belongs to me, and I belong to the lover (Jesus). Remaining in this union of love means that we are looking after our own vineyard.

      “Other people’s vineyard” refers to the workplace for spiritual ministries, like preaching the gospel, and visiting believers, etc. “They made me take care of the vineyards” implies that the church wants me to serve. Yet “my vineyard I have neglected” implies that I am only concerned about keeping myself busy with the Lord’s work, while neglecting my own private life of drawing near to the Lord, thus losing my fellowship in the Lord’s love. As a result, the beloved said, “Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep.” This means that the beloved had lost sight of the lover. In terms of experience, we have already lost the Lord’s presence. No wonder the Lord specifically inspired the Apostle John to augment his gospel book by writing John chapter 21, in order to remind us that we can only serve the Lord if we are in His love.

   3. Because We Minister Out of Love, We Will Not Feel Weary

      There are some Christians who, as time goes by, feel weary and burdened in their service for the Lord. This is because they have lost their love for the Lord. If we serve Him out of love, we will not feel weary or burdened, instead we will be filled with pleasure and enjoyment. Is it not so? In terms of the experiences of parents, when a baby is born, he cries whenever he wants to be cuddled; he wants someone to change him whenever he is wet. Yet we have never seen parents rebuking their babies when they cry, or beat them when they are wet. On the contrary, the parents patiently coax them, kiss them, care for them, and nurture them with all attentiveness. Unmindful of all the troubles, they patiently bring them up until they become adults. Outwardly, the parents are indeed tired and weary, nevertheless in their hearts there is indescribable pleasure and sweetness. Because wherever love is present, the service is bound to be enjoyable. Similarly, if we serve the Lord because we love Him, we will also enjoy the sweetness (which is the anointing of joy).

      The Old Testament book of Genesis mentions about Jacob who craftily deceived his brother Esau of his birthright. Because of this, Esau got so enraged he wanted to kill him. All Jacob could do then was to flee to the house of his uncle Laban where he tended his flock and served him.

      Laban had two daughters. The older was called Leah while the younger, Rachel. Rachel was lovely in form and beautiful. Jacob was in love with Rachel and said to Laban, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” The Bible specifically records that Jacob served Laban seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her (Gen. 29:20). O! Seven years was indeed a long time. In his seven years of service, Jacob was scorched by the heat of the sun by day, and pierced by the freezing cold of the ice by night. He endured all kinds of hardships. Yet because of his love for Rachel, he did not feel the least bit weary.

      Loving the Lord is the basic requirement in serving the Lord. When we serve the Lord out of love for Him, we will not feel weary. On the other hand, He satisfies us with His love, such that we will gladly and willingly do whatever it takes to serve Him.

2. It Is Only by Ministering in Love that We Can Have Spiritual Provision

   There are various ministries in the church just like the sharing of the Word, preaching the gospel, visiting believers, shepherding the saints, attending to church secular affairs, weddings, and funerals, etc. The bottom line of all these ministries is whether or not they can provide help and offer provisions to others. There are some whose ministries produce an exactly opposite effect. It not only makes people feel awkward, it even causes people to suffer. Therefore, regardless of whether our ministry is spiritual or secular, they must be done in the love of the Lord. If one does not minister out of love for the Lord, then he is like a hired hand who works only to receive wages. That kind of ministry would naturally not provide life. We would like to mention two principles from the Bible:

   1. Love Produces a Humble Ministry

      “Humility” is a spiritual lesson every person who serves the Lord must learn. It is by humbly ministering that the outflow of life is made possible. The Gospel of John 13:1 tells us, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” This speaks of the Lord’s love as a love that will not let go; it is an everlasting love.

      Hence, while taking supper, Jesus got up from His meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.

      “Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist” denotes that He stood in the position of a servant. “Washing the disciples’ feet” demonstrates a humble ministry. O! To think that a master is serving his servants, and a teacher is ministering to his students – this is our Lord. Because He loves us, He serves us humbly. This shows clearly that love produces a humble ministry.

      I remember back in 1950, I was once invited to attend a church’s love feast fellowship. Before the love feast began, there were some elders who came to wash our feet. I felt amazed and wondered if there was such a practice among believers of Jesus. If I had known about this beforehand, I would have washed my feet first before I went. It so happened that not only did I fail to wash my feet that day, I even wore an old pair of socks. I really felt embarrassed, but the elders’ sincerity in their desire to wash my feet made me unable to decline. At first, I felt very uneasy. But halfway through the washing, I was deeply moved within. None of them was my relative, nor did I have a special relationship with any of them. It was really undeserving of us to have the elders stoop down to wash our feet, but the actions done out of love were so hard for us to decline. That was an evening I will never forget for the rest of my life. O! The love of the Lord produces a humble ministry.

      How did God’s love come upon mankind? It was when the Lord Jesus who, being majestic and glorious, humbled Himself by willingly taking on the flesh, and did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing and took the very nature of a servant. This is humility. His humility has brought life to us. Because of His humility, the love of God flowed out from Him, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (receives the provision of life). This is a spiritual law.

      Whether or not brothers and sisters obtain provision from our ministry depends on whether or not our ministry is in the love of the Lord.

   2. Bear Much Fruit By Abiding in Love

      The Gospel of John 15:5 records Jesus telling His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.” Then in verse 9: “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love.” Here it mentions again the subject about “love.” Only when we experience the Lord and truly touch Him can we understand that God is love. Therefore when one does not touch love, there is no way he could touch the Lord.

      Furthermore it is said in I John 4:16, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” It is clear that to abide in God is to abide in love. Very naturally, we will bear fruit to provide for others. Because when we are in the Lord, life will flow out from us. “Bearing fruit” denotes the outflow of life, just like grapes which are the crystallization of life that flows from the vine to its branches.

      We must remain in the great love of the Lord, that we may provide life. In the Gospel of John, there are many words of spiritual significance which specifically enjoins love and life. This means that we have to learn to minister in love so that life may flow out; only then can our ministry be of spiritual value.

   3. Knowledge Puffs Up, but Love Builds Up

      I Corinthians 8:1 records that “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” This reminds us that whenever we minister, we must never have the idea that knowledge, wisdom, and ability can provide help to others. Knowledge only puffs us up, while love alone makes one humble and provides life.

      No wonder Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 4:15, “Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers.” As far as the natural man is concerned, there are ten thousand who desire to be teachers in order to instruct others – this implies that quite a number of people minister based on their knowledge. However, the words “you do not have many fathers” implies that only a handful truly minister out of love. I sincerely hope that we may all learn to serve the Lord in love.

III. A Ministry Away from the Lord’s Love is a Fallen Ministry

The time when we were saved by grace, we felt how the Lord was so lovely and so sweet that none can compare with Him. We consecrated ourselves to the Lord and expressed that from now on, we will serve Him only. There is the likelihood that after a while, when a big part of our time is spent getting busy with external works, we will gradually lose our closeness with the Lord. Once our intimacy with Him lessens, our acceptance of the Lord’s love eventually decreases, gradually making our ministry become burdensome. O! The moment we forsake the Lord’s love, our ministries will simply become religious activities. Activities that are done away from the Lord’s love are all fallen ministries.

A. The Church in Ephesus was Rebuked by the Lord Because They had Forsaken the First Love

The book of Revelation begins with the seven letters that the old Apostle John wrote, the first of which was addressed to the messengers of the Church in Ephesus, saying, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Rev.2:2-5)

Here it shows us clearly that because the church in Ephesus did not minister in the love of the Lord, their ministry was a fallen ministry. Hence, the Holy Spirit admonished the Church in Ephesus to repent and restore their first love, otherwise their lampstand will be removed from its place. The Church in Ephesus started when Paul went there to preach the gospel; the people believed on the Lord and were baptized. Paul also laid hands on them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were indeed filled with the rich presence of the Lord. Later on, with the Lord co-working with them, miraculous signs and wonders followed. Evil spirits were cast out, and the name of Jesus was greatly magnified.

Not only that, the Lord’s blessings immediately followed. In a very short time, the church expanded and believers were revived. Many of those who practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. The Lord’s Word spread widely and grew in power. Indeed they ministered in the presence of the Lord as spoken of in the Gospel of Matthew. They also ministered in the co-working of the Lord as mentioned in the Gospel of Mark. They even ministered in the blessings of the Lord as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. However, some time later, because they did not minister in the great love of the Lord as spoken of in the Gospel of John, just before the old Apostle John passed away, the Church in Ephesus had fallen.

What is the love which the Church in Ephesus had forsaken? It is the great love of Christ on the cross. Galatians 3:1 says, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.” This tells us that when a person meets the Lord and in His spirit sees the Lord Jesus nailed to the cross; it is as if this portrait is being painted live before his very eyes. Having tasted the great love of the Lord who had shed His blood and given up His life, he loves the Lord in return for His great love. This is called first love. During our breaking of bread meeting, as we meditate and reminisce the love of the Lord on the cross, we cannot help but return to the first love, and ever so naturally we love Him back and re-consecrate our lives to serve Him.

B. The Brothers of the Church in Philadelphia Love One Another and are Commended by the Lord

Revelation 3:7 records, “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open… ” The name “Philadelphia” refers to brotherly love. The reason the brothers love one another is because they first received the love from the Lord. Not only did the Lord not rebuke them, He even praised them and promised them saying, “Behold! I open a door before you which no one can shut.”

IV. Learning to Minister in the Great Love of the Lord

We have already seen the value of ministering in the great love of the Lord. Hence, we need to understand how we can learn to minister in this great love. Based from the Gospel of John 21, we will mention a few points:

A. In Response to the Love of the Lord, We Love Him Back

That night, the seven disciples went out to fish by the Sea of Tiberias. The reason why they fished at night was because seasoned fishermen knew for a fact that when they go out to fish at night, the instant they light up the lamp, all the fish would come swarming in to where the light is. Thus when they throw down the net, they will get a catch. However, that night the seven disciples laboured all night and caught nothing.

Jesus had been standing on the shore waiting for them until daybreak. He had kept a close watch on them in secret, waiting for them to come back to the shore. Sure enough, the disciples returned. Jesus did not rebuke them, but instead, with a voice of concern He asked, “Children, have you anything to eat?” They answered no. O! Our Lord has a great love that is non-condemning. During the darkest hours, He still cared for His disciples, whether or not they have anything to eat. “Eating” signifies living. In secret, the Lord is concerned about both our living as well as our future. Not only is He concerned about our material living, He is also concerned about our spiritual living.

When the disciples answered “no” to the Lord, the Lord did not tarry till the last minute to make preparations. In fact, He had finished preparing a fire of burning coals, fish, and bread at a much earlier time. All these demonstrated the Lord’s warm and providing love. Besides, both the bread and the fish had just been roasted and were still warm. This shows again the Lord’s caring love which is meticulous even to the smallest detail.

Just before this, the Lord was asking the disciples if they have anything to eat. He then told them to throw their nets on the right side of the boat to get a catch. When they did, they were unable to haul the net in. The other disciples followed and towed the net full of fish to the shore. The net was full of large fish, 153 in all. Here, it shows us the great providing love of the Lord. If He doesn’t provide, fine; but if He does, it will be more than sufficient.

The Bible specifically mentions 153 fish. No wonder the hymn writer told us to count our blessings and name them one by one to see what the Lord has done for us. “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”

When the seven disciples hauled in the 153 large fish, the Bible specifically records, “but even with so many, the net was not torn.” (John 21:11) Common sense tells us that with so many large fish, the net would surely get torn. But, actually, it did not. Its spiritual meaning denotes the great keeping love of the Lord.

In the way of ministry, the great keeping love of the Lord also motivates us. Every time we have no reservations of our own, but consecrate our lives wholly to Him, the Lord will surely keep us, because His is the great keeping love. Through his keeping power, we will be kept thoroughly to the end. O! The love of the Lord Jesus is indeed an exceedingly great love!

After the disciples had tasted the immensity of the Lord’s great love, not only were they deeply moved, they also found themselves fully dissolved in His great love. When the great love of the Lord descends upon us, who is able to stand up against it? His great constraining love is like a rushing current of water, causing everyone in the way to be washed over by this great love. It enables us to love Him in return, to a point where we no longer live for ourselves, but in all willingness we live for Him who died and rose again for us.

B. Love the Lord Above All Else

“When they had finished breakfast…” spiritually it means that they had tasted and were filled with the Lord’s great love. Right away, Jesus asked Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love Me more than these?” The Lord’s meaning was “Do you love me more than the fish and the net?” “Net” symbolizes life’s dependence. Some people depend on money, while some on education, and others on ability and intellect. “Fish” symbolizes life’s pleasures because the fish could be sold, and the money one makes could be used for the enjoyment of life’s pleasures.

Peter answered the Lord, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” After Peter received from the Lord His great love, he came to the realization that having the Lord is equal to having all. It also describes how Peter had yielded himself to the great love of the Lord. In the same manner, the Lord is asking you today, “Do you and I love the Lord more than these?” Do you love the Lord more than your family? Do you love the Lord more than your career? Do you love the Lord more than your life’s dependence and pleasures?

When Peter told the Lord that he loves Him more than the fish and the net, the Lord said to him, “Feed My lambs.” Following that He said, “Take care of My sheep.” A step further He said, “Feed My sheep.” This implies that the Lord wants us to minister in His great love. It implies that we ought to serve the Lord in answer to the call of His love. Sure enough, after Peter had risen up to this occasion, up until the time he saw the Lord’s face, he never again turned or shrank back; moreover, he served the Lord until the day he was martyred.

C. Love One Another

The Gospel of John 13 records that after the Lord Jesus had finished washing the disciples’ feet, He said to them, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34) This means that the Lord constrains us with His love today so that we too can love our brothers with His love.

It is even more concretely stated in I John 4:20 that, “For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” Hence, in order to minister in the great love of the Lord, brothers and sisters must learn to love one another.

D. Exercise Our Gifts in Love

Praise the Lord! He gives each one of us a special gift. Some share God’s Word on the pulpit while some do song-leading, others go on visitations and shepherding believers, while still others attend to the secular affairs of the church. Each individual stands at his own post serving the Lord. There are even some elderly people who do their least by interceding for others because intercessory prayer is considered the highest form of ministry. Simpson once said that the highest and most powerful ministry is to do things on behalf of others before God (intercessory prayers).

Back when I was ministering in Kaohsiung, there was an elderly brother who lived next door to our house. This brother had once taken part in the ministry of copying the translations of the Chinese Bible. When he had reached his 70’s, he could no longer go out to do visiting work, nonetheless he stayed home and interceded for the church day by day. This is a practical example of exercising one’s gifts in the Lord’s great love.

I Corinthians 14 talks about exercising one’s gifts during church fellowship. However, let us not forget that chapters 12, 13, and 14 are all interrelated. Chapter 12 first speaks of the nine kinds of gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit. Chapter 13 speaks of love, while chapter 14, the exercising of gifts during fellowship. We are being taught that after we have received these gifts from the Holy Spirit, we ought to exercise these gifts in the Lord’s great love. If the element of love is taken out, we will merely be a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. May the Lord bless His Word, so that we may return to the first love and serve Him in this love.

In the history of church revival, the revival of the brethren in Moravia was about returning to the foundation of their first love for the Lord. The great revival during that time was known to be unprecedented. It can be considered as having reached God’s standard. The brethren’s condition of truly loving one another was similar to that of the Church in Philadelphia. According to church history, whenever the brethren came together and broke bread, they were filled with the Lord’s great love. Even the brothers and sisters came to love one another more and more. They also exercised their gifts in love when serving. Because of this, a large group of the saints accepted God’s calling and was sent to different parts of the world to minister. It was a truly great revival that had never occurred before.

John Wesley was greatly edified during the Moravian revival. He once said in his biography that, if God did not commission him to do the work of revival in the churches in Europe and America, he would rather spend his life being with the brethren in Moravia.

May the Lord be gracious to us and lead us never to depart from the wellspring of His great love. May He fill us with His fresh love, so that we may keep serving in His love till He comes again!

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