“Abiding in Love vs. Remaining on the Way of Life”

 

“Abiding in Love vs. Remaining on the Way of Life”

1 John 4:16 And we know and believe the love God has shown us. God is love, and whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Ephesians 3:17 That Christ might make his home in you through faith, so that you might be rooted and grounded in love.

Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined together and united through every richly supplied joint and through every part having its measured function, grows up to build itself up in love.

Ephesians 2:21 In him the whole house, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Ephesians 2:22 And you yourselves are also being built up in him to become God’s dwelling place in the Spirit.

Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of the city streets.

Revelation 22:2 On one side of the river and on the other, there was the tree of life, which produced twelve kinds of fruit. It yielded fruit every month, and its leaves were for the healing of the nations.

 

Aspect	Abiding in Love	Remaining on the Way of Life
Meaning	To remain in God as love, allowing His love to be perfected in us, living out God as our inward content and outward expression.	To walk in the principle and line of life, staying in the flow of life to grow in life and receive the reward of life.
Difference	Focuses on organic union with God and expressing Him through love.	Focuses on the path of life and growing in life according to the divine life.
Characteristics	God abides in us and we in Him; love becomes our nature, element, and expression.	Requires living and serving by the principle of life, not by right and wrong; through pray-reading, loving the Lord to the uttermost, and exercising the spirit.
Explanation	Perfected love = God’s love completed in us, becoming the ability to love others and giving boldness before Him.	The way of life is a narrow way, requiring daily eating of the Lord, exercising the spirit, staying in the flow of life, and submitting to Christ’s headship.
Result	Boldness before the judgment seat; fear is cast out; we become fully one with the Lord in love.	Growth in life, being built into the Body of Christ, receiving the reward of life and avoiding discipline.
Examples	As Christ lived out God as love on earth, so we also are in this world (1 John 4:17).	Followers of “the Way” (Acts 9:2); lovers of Christ running after Him (Song 1:4).
Application	Love others with God’s love; make decisions in love; serve in love; forgive and cover in love.	Pray-read the Word, live by the principle of life, remain in the life-flow, avoid all kinds of spiritual death.
Burden	That God’s love be fully perfected in us so we become love and express God as love.	That believers remain on the line of life to grow in life and be built up for God’s purpose.
Prophesying Guidelines	Emphasize the flow and expression of love, speaking words that nourish and perfect others.	Emphasize life supply, life principles, and the building up of life and the church.
Mutual Relationship	Abiding in love keeps us on the way of life: Love protects us from the principles of right/wrong, judgment, death, and offense.	Remaining on the way of life enables us to abide in love: Life is the source of love; the more we grow in life, the more love is perfected in us.
Conclusion	Abiding in love = abiding in God and having His love perfected in us to stand boldly before Him.	Remaining on the way of life = staying on the line of life for growth, building, and reward.
Detailed Scriptures	1 John 4:16–18; 1 John 3:21; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:13; Luke 12:46–47; 1 Pet. 1:17; Heb. 12:28; John 6:57, 63	Matt. 7:13–14; Acts 9:2; Acts 18:25–26; Rom. 8:2; John 10:10; Rev. 22:1–2; Eph. 4:16; Lev. 5:2; Num. 6:6–7; Mark 12:30; Song 1:4

 

Mutual Relationship (Detailed Explanation)

1.      Abiding in Love → Preserves Us on the Path of Life

·        Love keeps us from falling into the principle of right and wrong, enabling us to live only by the principle of life.

·        Love removes fear so that we do not stumble through self-condemnation but can continue pressing forward.

·        Love enables us to forgive, tolerate, and cover others, preventing us from being stumbled by people or matters and leaving the line of life.

2.      Remaining on the Path of Life → Enables Us to Abide More in Love

·        The supply of life causes the nature of love to grow (John 6:57).

·        The law of the Spirit of life causes us to spontaneously live out love (Rom. 8:2).

·        The growth of life = the perfecting of love (1 John 4:12, 17–18).

3.      The Two Form a Cycle and Strengthen Each Other

·        Life is the true source; love is the expression of life.

·        Love is the power that maintains us on the path of life, and life is the foundation for living out love.

·        Ultimately, we arrive at a state where we are fully mingled in life, in love, and in God.

 

*Please refer to the May 2025 International Elders and Responsible Brothers Training, General Topic: Matthew Chapters 5-7, The Most Important Aspects, Week 7: Entering Through the Narrow Gate and Walking Through the Narrow Path That Leads to Life, the Blessed Glory of the Kingdom Forever.