Lesson 52. The Killer of Love

Have you ever tried to wage war against the ocean? Every attempt to destroy it in any way will come to nothing. It is immensely vast and capable of absorbing everything into itself. Any effort to harm the ocean would be regarded as yet another foolish act.

God’s love is boundless. It cannot be measured or confined within any limits. It is as vast as the universe and as infinite as the Creator. And by God’s mercy, love becomes my possession. It is difficult to imagine, but it is a fact. As I enter the waters of this boundless ocean of love, I understand that I have become a part of it, and it has become mine. All its limitless possibilities are available to me, but I do not understand this, being content in my mind with only a small portion.

This boundless ocean has a fierce enemy who dwells within me and is called the old man. He also bears another name—the flesh. By this is meant my sinful nature, which is characterized by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

God’s love recognizes that, despite all its fullness and power, it encounters within me its worst enemy, who has the power to make it grow cold or to kill it. And the battlefield between these two sides is located in my mind.

The spiritual forces of wickedness in high places rule in the air of this world and seek allies for themselves in their struggle against God and His love.

God is great, and His love is immeasurably great. The enemy of the soul cannot change or destroy this, but he fights to blind people with sin so that they will choose the darkness of godlessness and suffering for themselves and perish in this miserable condition.

All the deceptive power of Satan is directed toward convincing me that true love does not exist and that God does not exist. The enemy seeks to suggest to me that it is impossible to love, that everyone around me is a hypocrite, and that I should live only for myself, experiencing sinful pleasures and satisfying my human needs and desires. Under the influence of this deceptive power, deceived people turn into weak-willed and thoughtless beings who seek pleasure and enjoyment. They rebel against God without considering the consequences.

But a person has a mind capable of analyzing and choosing. However, if this mind has been damaged by sin, it will automatically incline toward evil. It is impossible to resist such an influence of sin by human strength.

In His love, God reached out to humanity, changing the course of the history of sin and the Fall and giving people the hope of receiving forgiveness and the power not to sin.

Jesus, the Son of God, revealed the character of the Father to us and demonstrated God’s love for people through His life. He made my salvation from the power of sin and Satan possible. And by giving me His love, Jesus gives me Himself in order to fight against every evil in my heart and establish His Kingdom within it, so that He may become the King in this Kingdom of love.

His influence is very great. He draws millions of hearts by His love, offering all humanity life more abundantly. I accept this gift and receive forgiveness, God’s mercy, and God’s righteousness on the condition of my obedience to the law of the Creator and my complete dedication of myself to the Lord. My carnal nature cannot resist the power of love or fight against it. But the saddest truth is that my old nature will never die within me and will always seek to persuade me to choose the works of the flesh and act according to the old principles. The enemy of my soul is very cunning and treacherous. He waits for every opportunity to oppose God’s love and offer his services. The saddest thing is that the old man is I myself. He is not a separate personality within me. He is my sinful nature, in which I was born and which will remain mine until death. And it is precisely my “self” that fights against God for possession of my will and freedom. I decide to whom I will belong, making this choice every morning. Thousands of temptations surround me, but I make my decision in favor of God and His love.

The flesh resists, waiting for the moment when it can take advantage of my weakness and seize my will in order to make love within me grow cold or to kill it. But as long as my will is the wife of Christ and remains obedient to His law, abiding in love and truth, the carnal nature has no chance of gaining possession of me. Nevertheless, it does not sleep. It tries to draw my attention to the enticements of this world and involve me in temptation through the flesh. But I have received from God the power of love so that, in its light, I may discern these temptations and resist them.

Love draws a very clear boundary between sin and righteousness. It has nothing in common with the works and lusts of the flesh. It is the light and power of truth.

By abiding in love and choosing it as my weapon for warfare, I remain in God and under His protection. My old man, the killer of love, is placed in the prison of circumstances, and all he can do is patiently wait for the moment when the guard becomes weak or falls asleep. Then he will be able to break free, destroy all the accomplishments of love in my life, disgrace my name, and ruin my life by plunging me into the abyss of sin and carnal pleasures.

And I understand the apostle Paul, who experienced this struggle and wrote about it in this way: Romans 7:23–24: “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

A loving person must pass through this struggle.

Only the coming of Christ will change my old nature. Then God will give me an incorruptible body that has no sinful inclinations or desires. But now there is a struggle—a great struggle. And my will decides whose wife it will be. There are two husbands who desire to possess it—Christ and my carnal nature called “self.” I choose Jesus. And my entire will dissolves in His love. We plan our future life, which began in this happy union and will never end.

Romans 7:25: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Love knows its killer by sight and is not afraid of him, for by teaching me to love, it gains the power to keep my old man pinned down, immediately recognize all his temptations and claims, and skillfully overcome them through the Spirit of God.

Jesus won this war, and as long as I am in Him, and He and His love are in me, I too will be victorious. Love never loses.

1. Read James 1:12–16; 1 John 3:4; Romans 13:10; and 1 John 2:15–17, and consider these verses within the context of our lesson.

2. What did you understand while studying this subject?

3. What revelations did you receive?

4. How can you distinguish the voice of God from the voice of the flesh?

5. Read Matthew 24:12. What does “shall wax cold” mean? How should this be understood in practice?

6. How can my flesh tempt me? What methods does it use?