When Paul said, “The love of Christ controls us,” he was using it in the sense of love being the driving force in His life. The fact that “one died for all,” for love’s sake, is a life transforming worldview. It changes how we see people. It changes the way we treat everyone. It changes our value system. It means that we can no longer live for ourselves. It means that the essence of the God Who is love has come into our very being, enabling us to keep the Great Commandment. We are no longer controlled by sin. The chains are gone; we have been set free. We have become willing captives of divine love, revealed perfectly in the Man, Jesus.
“For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” 2 Corinthians 5:13-15 (NASB)
