DISPLAYING GOD’S LOVE

INTRODUCTION

Perhaps the greatest theme of the Bible is one of love. As we look at God’s Word, we see that this love pervades the whole of the Bible. It does not matter whether the Scripture is dealing with judgement or blessing, we can still see the love of God in both. God’s love for His creation is to be found displayed through His dealings with mankind for all to read about. As Christians we have experienced God’s love, and God expects us to share that love with others. This study is intended to bring us to a better understanding of God’s love, and how experiencing that love, we may better display it to others.

LOVE IS GOD’S NATURE

The Bible states that ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8). This does not mean that God ‘loves’ but that He embodies love. It is just not His character, but it is what He is. Because God is an eternal spirit being, His love must be eternal also.

Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love…”

Because God has no beginning, but always existed (Psalm 90:2), God has always been love. Because He has always been love and we know that God will never change (Malachi 3:6), His love towards man will never change also. The Bible says: Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God loves the man He has created. His love for man does not cause Him to overlook man’s sinfulness, but rather to make provision for it being forgiven (1 John 4:10).

Scripture says, ‘God is Spirit’ (John 4:24). As God is Spirit, He is omnipresent i.e. everywhere at once. As He is everywhere at once and is love, so God’s love is everywhere. It knows no bounds so it can touch any man anywhere at any time. The apostle Paul came to this understanding of God, when he wrote in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 9 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”

So great is this love that no mind can fully comprehend or tongue fully express it (Ephesians 3:19)! It is because of this love that God made provision for all men to be saved, who respond to the gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:22).

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We see from this verse that the origin of God’s redemption for man is His love.

GOD’S SPECIAL LOVE

There are a number of different Greek words that are translated ‘love’ in the New Testament. When the Bible talks about God’s love, it uses the Greek word ‘agapao‘. This love is different to that of brotherly love, or sexual love. It is the kind of love that is used of God when He sent His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16). This is a very special sacrificial kind of love that puts others ahead of self and is motivated for another’s good. His love for man was so great in redemption that He allowed ‘His only begotten’ Jesus to be reviled of men, spat upon, whipped, and finally crucified. This was the supreme demonstration of His love to man. If you ever doubt God’s love, just reflect upon what God did at Calvary.

HOW GOD’S LOVE MANIFESTS ITSELF

TO THE UNBELIEVER

  1. Without Merit:

    Deuteronomy 7:7, 8,“The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all the peoples; but because the Lord loved you…”

    Read Romans 5:8; Titus 3:4,5.

  2. It Is Spontaneous:

    1 John 4:10, “In this is love, not that we love God, but that’s He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

  3. It Is Through The Believer:

    It is through God’s love in the believer that the unbeliever comes to know God’s love.

    Romans 5:5, “… The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

    Jesus, before His crucifixion, prayed that the love with which the Father loved Him would be in His followers (John 17:26). It is through Christian Unity and love that the world is to know that Jesus has come (John 17:2). The believer then has a tremendous responsibility of leading others now through His life, the existence of a eternal, caring, merciful, loving God who will one day judge the wicked.

  4. It Can Be Sovereign:

    God is often displayed in Scripture His love in a sovereign way. Because He is God, He is a tangible to know man moves in accordance with the pleasures of His divine will. No better place is this scene than in the conversation of Saul on the road to Damascus. Read Acts 9:1-22. Jesus’ display of His saving grace in love change Saul and he became a special person in the purposes of God (Acts 9:15).

TO THE BELIEVER

  1. By Our Love for One Another:

    1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

    Read 1 John 4:20, 21; 1 Peter 2:17.

  2. By Showing Compassion To Others:

    1 John 3:17, 18, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees you brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God, abide in him? My little children, let us not living word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

    Read 1 Peter 3:8, 9.

  3. By Our Love for Christ:

    1 John 5:1, “Whoever believes in Jesus is Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begotten also loves Him who was begotten of Him.”

    Read Mark 12:30.

  4. By Our Keeping God’s Commandments:

    1 John 5:2, 3, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His Commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments…” Christ summarised the Commandments into a love of God and the love of one’s neighbour (Matthew 22:37-39).

  5. By Loving Your Enemies:

    Luke 627:28 “… Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” Loving our enemies as a mark of our son ship with God (Luke 6:35). This is what Jesus did when He was on the cross. It was through His love for His Doors that He was able to forgive them (Luke 23:34).

  6. By Manifesting the Fruit of the Spirit:

    Read Galatians 5:22-23. If you noticed the first fruit of the work of God’s Spirit in a person’s life is that of love. It is out of this love that the remainder of the fruit of joy, peace etc, flow in a person’s life.

  7. By Lack of Fear:

    1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears is not been made perfect in love.”

    It is because of this love God that we have, that we need to be fearful of tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). We know that God has all things under His control (Romans 8:28), and we need no longer fear judgement of for our sins (1 John 4:17).

  8. By Loving Your Partners:

    Read Ephesians 5:25, 28, 33.

    This passage of Scripture involves a direct command to husbands to love their wives. This love is God’s ‘agapao‘ love, which is the all giving, sacrificial kind. It reinforces the need of the husband in his love to be like Christ.

    Read 1 Peter 3:7.

  9. By Being Truthful:

    Read Ephesians 4:15-16.

    As Christians speak truth in love to others, it helps and grow in their relationships with one another, and fit into the effective functioning of the body of which they are apart. God wants the body to speak truthfully as in the outworking of His love in them.

  10. By Being Chastened:

    Read Hebrews 12:5-8.

    Being chastened by God is a mark of our son ship; ‘for whom the Lord loves He chastens’ (v.6). We see this clearly in God’s rebuke to the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:19).

  11. By the Way a Believer Gives:

    2 Corinthians 9:7, “Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

    12. Things That Negate God’s Flow of Love In A Believer

    1. Hatred (1 John 2:9-11).
    2. Lack of brotherly love (1 John 3:10-11).
    3. Fear (1 John 4:18).
    4. Unforgiveness (Matthew 5:43-47; 6:14-15).
    5. Not living a crucified life (Galatians 2:20).
    6. Not being obedient to God (John 14:15, 21, 23, 24).
    7. Not abiding in God (1 John 4:12-13).

    The Christian Walk

    God’s intention for the Christian is that he not only understands God’s love that manifests it in its various forms, so those who have not experienced God’s love, may also come to God. Man’s display of God’s love has been so marred by sin that as yet the world does not know that a God of love exists. The challenge to the church today is to manifest God in their midst by showing His love to one another and walking in that love (Ephesians 5:1-2).

    As the church matures, so we should expect a greater display of God’s love towards one another. Malice, strife, gossip, slander, dissimulation, jealousy and all other things contrary to the body growing up in love should stop! (Proverbs 10:18; Ephesians 4:30-32).

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.