At the close
of one of the most soul-soothing passages
in all the Bible,
King David triumphantly
announced,
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”
(Psalm 23:6)
Being in God’s presence meant everything to David.
Since he shared such a close relationship
with the Lord,
David could picture himself as a permanent resident in
God’s house, basking in His constant goodness, love, and care
every day. And because -death held- the -promise of eternal-
life in God’s -heavenly- kingdom, David -looked forward- to the
intimate and never-ending fellowship of dwelling in
the house of the Lord forever
The word dwell in Psalm 23:6 means “to inhabit or live.” The
house of the Lord is a term often referring to the
tabernacle, the temple,
or the "place of worship" (as in Psalm 122:1). But here in Psalm 23:6 the phrase speaks explicitly of “a dwelling house, palace, or local residence of a
deity.”
The presence of God is the believer’s true home
(Psalm 42:1–4; 84:1–4).
“Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,”
declared David in Psalm 65:4. And again in Psalm 27:4, we read of
David’s passionate and singular
pursuit
“One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that
I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple”
(Psalm 27:4).
To dwell in the house of the Lord forever
was David’s deepest longing. Scripture says he was a man after
God’s -own- heart!
(Acts 13:22; 1 Samuel 13:14).
Like David, the apostle Paul was sure that nothing in this life,
not even
death itself, -could separate- him from the
loving presence of God
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from
the love of God
that
-is in- Christ Jesus -our- Lord”
(Romans 8:38–39).
While preaching on Psalm 23, Charles Spurgeon said,
"While I am here I will be a child alone with my God;
the whole world will be His house to me;
and when I ascend
unto the upper chamber I shall not change my company,
nor even change the house.
I shall only go to dwell in the upper story of the house of the Lord
forever”
To dwell in the house of the Lord forever also suggests
living with an attitude of heart
that expresses constant praise and worship.
In Psalm 34:1, David exclaimed, “I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises” Another psalmist declared, “What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises”
(Psalm 84:4, NLT).
According to Psalm 84:10, one day spent worshiping in God’s house
is better than
a thousand anywhere else. The verse continues:
“I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked” (NLT). “Praise the LORD!” says another psalm.
“Let all that I am praise the LORD. I will praise the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath” (Psalm 146:1–2, NLT).
The good things that God provides for us
in this life
are merely a foretaste of what
awaits us in heaven
(1 Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 64:4).
A glorious future day is coming
when all the redeemed of the Lord
will gather around the Lord’s table in
His eternal house!
(Isaiah 25:6–9; Matthew 22:1–14; Luke 13:29–30; Revelation 19:9; 21:2–4).
In heaven, as we dwell in the house of the Lord
forever, we will enjoy full,
uninterrupted
communion with God!
(1 Corinthians 13:12).
In Romans 13, the apostle Paul is teaching believers
what it means to
live the Christian life of sacrifice.
First, he speaks of living in submission to those in authority.
Then, shifting to the theme of loving one’s fellow human,
Paul makes this declaration:
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the
continuing debt to love one another,
for whoever loves others has
fulfilled the law”
(Romans 13:8). Similarly, in Galatians 5:14, Paul states,
"For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this
one command: ‘
Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The law Paul is talking about in these verses is
the Law of Moses,
which was given by God to Israel (Exodus 20—40; Leviticus 1–7; 23).
The law included the Ten Commandments and all the
moral, ceremonial, and civil regulations
that governed the life of the people of Israel in their covenant relationship with God. Paul indicates that
the entire law can be summed up in
one operative word--love.
Believers can fulfill every demand of the Mosaic Law
by
loving others.
The only legitimate debt and the one debt Christians can never fully repay is the ongoing obligation to love one another:
"We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Paul illuminates the truth that love is at the core of the law.
The love command—“love your neighbor as yourself”
(Leviticus 19:18)--
is at the heart of the law of Christ:
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the law of Christ”
(Galatians 6:2; see also 1 Corinthians 9:20–21).
James calls the command to love your neighbor as yourself the
royal law:
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right” (James 2:8).
The law has always pointed
to Jesus Christ:
“For Christ has already accomplished the purpose
for which the law was given.
As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God”
(Romans 10:4, NLT).
The Law of Moses is something humans are incapable of keeping
(Galatians 3:10).
We cannot meet the demands of the law in our own power (Galatians 3:24; Romans 8:4; 10:4).
Our Savior, the Lord Jesus, fulfilled the law
perfectly
and provided His righteousness in
exchange for our sin
(see Matthew 5:17).
By faith we believe and accept that Jesus Christ
bore the curse of the law when He died on the cross. And through Him we receive the Holy Spirit, who enables us to keep the divine law of love:
“Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (Romans 13:10, NLT).
Now, instead of worrying about what we can never do, namely,
keeping the law,
we are free to yield to the Spirit and
allow Him to love through us.
One day when Jesus was teaching the crowds, a Pharisee asked Him,
"What is the greatest commandment of the law?”
Jesus answered,
“‘Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these
two commandments”
(Matthew 22:37–40).
Christians now satisfy all the demands of the law by
loving God first and then loving others.
It is impossible to love God and not love people. God’s heart, His very nature, is love. If the Spirit of God dwells in us, His love will flow through us to others (1 John 3:10, 14, 16; 4:2–20).
Our love for God
will cause us to see people as God sees them
and love them as God does.
Finally, it’s vital to understand what the Scriptures mean by “love”
in these verses.
Love that fulfills the law is agape love.
This love is not based on emotions, but
an act of the will.
It is self-sacrificing, deliberate, active love.
To love someone with God’s love
is to promote that person’s best interests—to actively work not to harm
but to bring good to that person.
This love is directed not only toward fellow believers
but to all people, even our enemies.
Regardless of our emotional response to another person,
agape love will act for his or her good,
regardless of the cost
That is the kind of love Scripture speaks of when it says to
love your neighbor as yourself.
That kind of
love
is the fulfillment of the law
of one of the most soul-soothing passages
in all the Bible,
King David triumphantly
announced,
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”
(Psalm 23:6)
Being in God’s presence meant everything to David.
Since he shared such a close relationship
with the Lord,
David could picture himself as a permanent resident in
God’s house, basking in His constant goodness, love, and care
every day. And because -death held- the -promise of eternal-
life in God’s -heavenly- kingdom, David -looked forward- to the
intimate and never-ending fellowship of dwelling in
the house of the Lord forever
The word dwell in Psalm 23:6 means “to inhabit or live.” The
house of the Lord is a term often referring to the
tabernacle, the temple,
or the "place of worship" (as in Psalm 122:1). But here in Psalm 23:6 the phrase speaks explicitly of “a dwelling house, palace, or local residence of a
deity.”
The presence of God is the believer’s true home
(Psalm 42:1–4; 84:1–4).
“Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,”
declared David in Psalm 65:4. And again in Psalm 27:4, we read of
David’s passionate and singular
pursuit
“One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that
I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple”
(Psalm 27:4).
To dwell in the house of the Lord forever
was David’s deepest longing. Scripture says he was a man after
God’s -own- heart!
(Acts 13:22; 1 Samuel 13:14).
Like David, the apostle Paul was sure that nothing in this life,
not even
death itself, -could separate- him from the
loving presence of God
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from
the love of God
that
-is in- Christ Jesus -our- Lord”
(Romans 8:38–39).
While preaching on Psalm 23, Charles Spurgeon said,
"While I am here I will be a child alone with my God;
the whole world will be His house to me;
and when I ascend
unto the upper chamber I shall not change my company,
nor even change the house.
I shall only go to dwell in the upper story of the house of the Lord
forever”
To dwell in the house of the Lord forever also suggests
living with an attitude of heart
that expresses constant praise and worship.
In Psalm 34:1, David exclaimed, “I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises” Another psalmist declared, “What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises”
(Psalm 84:4, NLT).
According to Psalm 84:10, one day spent worshiping in God’s house
is better than
a thousand anywhere else. The verse continues:
“I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked” (NLT). “Praise the LORD!” says another psalm.
“Let all that I am praise the LORD. I will praise the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath” (Psalm 146:1–2, NLT).
The good things that God provides for us
in this life
are merely a foretaste of what
awaits us in heaven
(1 Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 64:4).
A glorious future day is coming
when all the redeemed of the Lord
will gather around the Lord’s table in
His eternal house!
(Isaiah 25:6–9; Matthew 22:1–14; Luke 13:29–30; Revelation 19:9; 21:2–4).
In heaven, as we dwell in the house of the Lord
forever, we will enjoy full,
uninterrupted
communion with God!
(1 Corinthians 13:12).
In Romans 13, the apostle Paul is teaching believers
what it means to
live the Christian life of sacrifice.
First, he speaks of living in submission to those in authority.
Then, shifting to the theme of loving one’s fellow human,
Paul makes this declaration:
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the
continuing debt to love one another,
for whoever loves others has
fulfilled the law”
(Romans 13:8). Similarly, in Galatians 5:14, Paul states,
"For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this
one command: ‘
Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The law Paul is talking about in these verses is
the Law of Moses,
which was given by God to Israel (Exodus 20—40; Leviticus 1–7; 23).
The law included the Ten Commandments and all the
moral, ceremonial, and civil regulations
that governed the life of the people of Israel in their covenant relationship with God. Paul indicates that
the entire law can be summed up in
one operative word--love.
Believers can fulfill every demand of the Mosaic Law
by
loving others.
The only legitimate debt and the one debt Christians can never fully repay is the ongoing obligation to love one another:
"We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Paul illuminates the truth that love is at the core of the law.
The love command—“love your neighbor as yourself”
(Leviticus 19:18)--
is at the heart of the law of Christ:
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the law of Christ”
(Galatians 6:2; see also 1 Corinthians 9:20–21).
James calls the command to love your neighbor as yourself the
royal law:
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right” (James 2:8).
The law has always pointed
to Jesus Christ:
“For Christ has already accomplished the purpose
for which the law was given.
As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God”
(Romans 10:4, NLT).
The Law of Moses is something humans are incapable of keeping
(Galatians 3:10).
We cannot meet the demands of the law in our own power (Galatians 3:24; Romans 8:4; 10:4).
Our Savior, the Lord Jesus, fulfilled the law
perfectly
and provided His righteousness in
exchange for our sin
(see Matthew 5:17).
By faith we believe and accept that Jesus Christ
bore the curse of the law when He died on the cross. And through Him we receive the Holy Spirit, who enables us to keep the divine law of love:
“Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (Romans 13:10, NLT).
Now, instead of worrying about what we can never do, namely,
keeping the law,
we are free to yield to the Spirit and
allow Him to love through us.
One day when Jesus was teaching the crowds, a Pharisee asked Him,
"What is the greatest commandment of the law?”
Jesus answered,
“‘Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these
two commandments”
(Matthew 22:37–40).
Christians now satisfy all the demands of the law by
loving God first and then loving others.
It is impossible to love God and not love people. God’s heart, His very nature, is love. If the Spirit of God dwells in us, His love will flow through us to others (1 John 3:10, 14, 16; 4:2–20).
Our love for God
will cause us to see people as God sees them
and love them as God does.
Finally, it’s vital to understand what the Scriptures mean by “love”
in these verses.
Love that fulfills the law is agape love.
This love is not based on emotions, but
an act of the will.
It is self-sacrificing, deliberate, active love.
To love someone with God’s love
is to promote that person’s best interests—to actively work not to harm
but to bring good to that person.
This love is directed not only toward fellow believers
but to all people, even our enemies.
Regardless of our emotional response to another person,
agape love will act for his or her good,
regardless of the cost
That is the kind of love Scripture speaks of when it says to
love your neighbor as yourself.
That kind of
love
is the fulfillment of the law
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