Restrictions

“You are not restricted by us,
but you are restricted in your own affections”
2 Corinthians 6:12

Some in the Church at Corinth blamed the apostolic ministry for their “restrictions”. It is the nature of fallen man to blame circumstances or others for their own lack.

The carnal affections of my heart will restrict the freedom and flow of His Holy Spirit through me. Paul, in his love and desire for the Lordship of Jesus Christ, “labored more abundantly” because of the grace received.

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was toward me has not been without fruit, but I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”
1 Corinthians 15:10 (LITV)

Grace is how God imparts holy affections to us; our lives become “living sacrifices” unto HIM as we come under its Holy influence. The “labour” borne of grace is the evidence of Him moving in us. Faith is the confidence to step into the wonder of His Will, love is the motive, and grace is the enablement.

Paul, moved by the Holy Spirit, spoke sharp and powerful words cutting asunder our excuses.

“but you are restricted
in your own affections”

The boundless horizons of God in each of us will be to the corresponding measure of holy affections that burn within our own hearts. We need not look elsewhere to explain the daily construct of our lives.

“The sluggard says,
“There is a lion outside!…”
Proverbs 22:13 (ESV)

The slothful and the lukewarm will find impediments in their way. There will always be obstacles that “restrict” our freedom in Christ. Jesus prophesied of this day. He warned us that the overriding ethos of the last days would be characterized by the “love of many” growing cold. What was the cause of this grievous condition?

“And because lawlessness (iniquity) will be increased,
the love of many will grow cold”
Matthew 24:12

Spiros Zodhiates gives a definition of the Greek word translated “iniquity”: “In most cases in the NT it means not the absence of the Law, but the violation of Law…” When the heart is divided by many affections it is easy to “set aside” the Law of God and to walk contrary to His Will. To hold unforgiveness, to remain unmoved by the afflictions of others (as expressed in the Parable of the Good Samaritan), to isolate our brother or sister from our care, to live unto ourselves, will cause the love (affection) of our hearts to grow cold.

One statement that sums up the lukewarm spirit of the Laodicean Church is:

“I have need of nothing”
Revelation 3:17

It is filled with apathy and the satisfaction of comfort. It is the summation of a false gospel that presents no power of the affections of Christ within or the “necessity” by which Paul was moved.

“For if I proclaim the gospel, no glory is to me; for necessity is laid on me, and it is woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel”
1 Corinthians 9:16 (please read the context)

A heart divided by a multitude of affections is unable to “feel” the pulse of His movings within. The “necessity” that moved and captured Paul’s heart is to be the growing experience of those who have been infused by the grace of God. The call of God is not a leisurely experience or part-time occupation; it is to produce in us a single eye, a pure heart, and a life unbound by anything other than the Love of Christ!

Paul stated that he did not receive the grace of God in vain but he allowed that grace, that marvelous working of God, to bring into subjection all other loves that he might be a vessel of honor unto the King of kings. It is impossible to hold the grace of God, to profess a faith in Him, yet be unmoved unto the works of Him.

“Because of laziness the building decays,
And through idleness of hands the house leaks”
Ecclesiastes 10:18 (NKJV)

Do we not see both individually and corporately the decay and neglect of the true church? The lack of exhortation and admonition fills the land with slumber. Those who slumber despise exhortation or anything that would awaken them; they just want to sleep.

“The ear that hears the rebukes of life
will abide among the wise.
He who disdains instruction despises his own soul,
But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.”
Proverbs 15:31-32

His love conquerors all the lesser loves of our fallen natures. He has come and IS come to make us disciples and ministrations of His glory. Spiritual identity is the fruit of doing His Will (James 1:22-25).

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”
James 1:22-24 (ESV)

It is the forgetful hearer that never comprehends the call of God for themselves. Disobedience and apathy causes obscurity in the defining work of His grace. The Call of God to His own will unerringly bring each to the specifics of a spiritual identity that will leave little doubt concerning their expression in Him.

Paul an apostle.
Agabus the prophet.
Timothy the evangelist,

Paul exhorts: “And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it” Colossians 4:17

Those who are growing in His love and His desire for HIS church cannot remain silent. There are no “restrictions” to those who are growing in the affections of Christ. The excuses fade in the power of His Love.

Paul imprisoned in Rome found his prison cell to be no hindrance to the ministrations of Christ. In fact, he declared that the word of God was not “bound” by his circumstances.

Our lives are to be lived unto Him. He who gave Himself for us seeks by the power of His grace to “win” over the affections of our own hearts so that we may experience His liberty moving in and through us.

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ”
Philippians 3:8

To those who would desire to comprehend the mystery wrapped up in this Greek word translated “win” I would encourage you to seek out all that Paul was communicating here.

May God shed His light upon our hearts. May we know that His shining forth from each of us is bound in the “affections” of our hearts; not by the circumstances or people that surround us.

“You are not restricted by us,
but you are restricted in your own affections”
2 Corinthians 6:12

“Then we shall know, we who follow on to know Jehovah.
His going forth is established as the dawn…”
Hosea 6:3

 

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