For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV
“Christ’s love compels us” is an interesting expression, full of meaning. “Christ’s love” can refer both to Christ’s love for Paul and to Paul’s love for Christ. The love of Christ that Paul had experienced, and the love that Paul, in return, now had for Christ, compelled him. The love of Christ is not just a thing to know, or even to cherish, although those are good. The love of Christ demands a response. It is not a passive state. It demands action on our part.
Paul was more concerned here about what Christ’s love was compelling him to do than with a full expression of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. But he did express the universal nature of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. He died as a substitute for all people, so, in a sense, all have died.
But his substitutionary death only had value for those who have put their faith and trust in him and what he did for us—those who have risen with him and now live.
Compelled to Live for Christ
Paul then returned to what Christ’s love compelled him to do. And he included all of those who have been raised with Christ and now live. We are to live, not for ourselves, but for him who died in our place and has given us this new life.
There is no question about Christ’s love for me. He gave up his life so that I could experience a new life. But how much do I love him? Am I willing to live my life for him rather than for myself? What about you? Does our love for Christ compel us to live for him now? It should!
