INTRODUCTION
Love is the very first manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Love is a very important virtue for Christians and thus a healthy definition of love is crucial to understanding the central message of the Bible. According to the Bible, love is neither confined to sexuality, (eros) nor is it primarily a feeling at all (philia). The Bible teaches that love (agape) is a commitment. Love is that God-given grace, attitude and ability that makes a person work for the utmost good of others not minding sacrificing self, self interest or self good. God is a Master – teacher. Whatever He asks us to do. He first demonstrates it to us and for us. He lives and leads by example. So also is this matter of love. For us to understand how God loves, we need to look into the Bible, learn and pray that God would shed abroad His love in our hearts.
1. GOD’S LOVE IS GIVING AND GENEROUS: JOHN 3:15-16; EPH 2:4-5; 1 JN 4:10; REV 1:5
God’s first example to us is found in that He gave us Himself through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; and through Him, He gave us all things to richly enjoy. God shows to us that, while it is possible to give without loving, however it is not possible to love and yet not give.
2. GOD’S LOVE IS FORGIVING: LUKE 15:1-7
The story in this passage is that of offence, love, forgiveness and restoration and typified by the prodigal son and his father. It is easier to understand a God who would forgive sinners who come to Him for mercy but a Father-God who tenderly and earnestly searches for sinners and then joyfully forgives them must possess extra-ordinary love. This is the kind of love that prompted Jesus to come to earth to search for lost people and save them. This is the kind of extra-ordinary love that God has for you. If you feel far from God, don’t despair. He is searching for you. Come to Him and confess your sins. The lesson here is clear God’s kind of love seeks to forgive and restore and thus we must practice love and forgiveness.
3. GOD’S LOVE IS BEYOND MEASURE: ROMANS 8:28-29, 35; 5:5
This passage re-affirms God’s profound love for His people. No matter what happens to us, no matter where we are, we are never lost to His love. Suffering should not drive us away from God, rather it should help us to identify with Him further and allow His love to reach us and heal us. The import of the message is this: in times of suffering we must never believe that God does not love us; and when others are suffering, we must reach out in God’s love to encourage them to experience and trust in the love of God.
4. GOD’S LOVE IS SACRIFICIAL: JOHN 3:15-21; EPH 5:2
The entire Gospel comes to focus in these verses. God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships. When you love someone dearly, you are willing to pay dearly for that person’s responsive love. God paid dearly with the life of His son, the highest price He could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that He had bought for us. When we share the Gospel with others, our love must be like that of Jesus. We must be willing to give up our own comfort so that others might join us in receiving God’s love. The message to us from these verses is that true love gives and gives sacrificially. You can’t say you love God and not give to God and men sacrificially.
5. GOD’S LOVE IS INEXHAUSTIBLE: PSALM 136:1
The clause, “His faithful love endures forever” is repeated through this Psalm. The repetition makes the important lesson of the inexhaustiveness of God’s love to sink in. God’s love includes and is manifested in unending kindness, mercy, and faithfulness. We never have to worry that God will run out of love, because it flows from a well that will never run dry. Thus the believer who would manifest God’s kind of love must demonstrate it in season and out of season.
6. THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S KIND OF LOVE IN A SPIRIT-FILLED BELIEVER
How God does expect a believer to demonstrate love as empowered by the Holy Spirit? The answer is graphically given to us in I Cor. 13:1-6 (NLT). Let’s read up and discuss.
TIME OF REFLECTION:
What does God’s kind of love teach you as His child?
CONCLUSION
As you experience the love of God, place your life on the altar for others to experience God’s love through you.
Memory Verse:
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever. Ps. 136:1
Love is the very first manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Love is a very important virtue for Christians and thus a healthy definition of love is crucial to understanding the central message of the Bible. According to the Bible, love is neither confined to sexuality, (eros) nor is it primarily a feeling at all (philia). The Bible teaches that love (agape) is a commitment. Love is that God-given grace, attitude and ability that makes a person work for the utmost good of others not minding sacrificing self, self interest or self good. God is a Master – teacher. Whatever He asks us to do. He first demonstrates it to us and for us. He lives and leads by example. So also is this matter of love. For us to understand how God loves, we need to look into the Bible, learn and pray that God would shed abroad His love in our hearts.
1. GOD’S LOVE IS GIVING AND GENEROUS: JOHN 3:15-16; EPH 2:4-5; 1 JN 4:10; REV 1:5
God’s first example to us is found in that He gave us Himself through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; and through Him, He gave us all things to richly enjoy. God shows to us that, while it is possible to give without loving, however it is not possible to love and yet not give.
2. GOD’S LOVE IS FORGIVING: LUKE 15:1-7
The story in this passage is that of offence, love, forgiveness and restoration and typified by the prodigal son and his father. It is easier to understand a God who would forgive sinners who come to Him for mercy but a Father-God who tenderly and earnestly searches for sinners and then joyfully forgives them must possess extra-ordinary love. This is the kind of love that prompted Jesus to come to earth to search for lost people and save them. This is the kind of extra-ordinary love that God has for you. If you feel far from God, don’t despair. He is searching for you. Come to Him and confess your sins. The lesson here is clear God’s kind of love seeks to forgive and restore and thus we must practice love and forgiveness.
3. GOD’S LOVE IS BEYOND MEASURE: ROMANS 8:28-29, 35; 5:5
This passage re-affirms God’s profound love for His people. No matter what happens to us, no matter where we are, we are never lost to His love. Suffering should not drive us away from God, rather it should help us to identify with Him further and allow His love to reach us and heal us. The import of the message is this: in times of suffering we must never believe that God does not love us; and when others are suffering, we must reach out in God’s love to encourage them to experience and trust in the love of God.
4. GOD’S LOVE IS SACRIFICIAL: JOHN 3:15-21; EPH 5:2
The entire Gospel comes to focus in these verses. God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships. When you love someone dearly, you are willing to pay dearly for that person’s responsive love. God paid dearly with the life of His son, the highest price He could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that He had bought for us. When we share the Gospel with others, our love must be like that of Jesus. We must be willing to give up our own comfort so that others might join us in receiving God’s love. The message to us from these verses is that true love gives and gives sacrificially. You can’t say you love God and not give to God and men sacrificially.
5. GOD’S LOVE IS INEXHAUSTIBLE: PSALM 136:1
The clause, “His faithful love endures forever” is repeated through this Psalm. The repetition makes the important lesson of the inexhaustiveness of God’s love to sink in. God’s love includes and is manifested in unending kindness, mercy, and faithfulness. We never have to worry that God will run out of love, because it flows from a well that will never run dry. Thus the believer who would manifest God’s kind of love must demonstrate it in season and out of season.
6. THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S KIND OF LOVE IN A SPIRIT-FILLED BELIEVER
How God does expect a believer to demonstrate love as empowered by the Holy Spirit? The answer is graphically given to us in I Cor. 13:1-6 (NLT). Let’s read up and discuss.
TIME OF REFLECTION:
What does God’s kind of love teach you as His child?
CONCLUSION
As you experience the love of God, place your life on the altar for others to experience God’s love through you.
Memory Verse:
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever. Ps. 136:1