Thank you for taking time to read these words.
Please take the time to read part one of this series about becoming
love. Let's journey together for an adventure into the
scriptures. Shall we begin by reading the words of someone who
had an experience in God's love? Lets begin in First John chapter 4.
7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
Love is of God and everyone that loves is born of God. The true test of knowing whether or not we are born again and we truly know God is whether or not we love each other. It’s not by great acts of faith or miracles or signs and wonders. Although these are signs of God among us, if they are really of God they are born out of the love we have for each other and not for any other purpose.
8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
This is pretty simple, if you are not in love you are not in God.
9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
This is the manifestation of our Father’s love. The proof that he loves you is not if all your circumstances are perfect and your life is wonderful. The proof that you are loved by our Father is the truth that Jesus was sent into the world as an act of Father’s love for us.
There was a bloody cross and there is an empty tomb to prove how
much you are loved.
10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
We didn't start love. Father loved us so much that he sent his only Son into the world to save us. Let this sink into your heart. The God who owns heaven and earth loves you so much that he gave all that he had to win your love. His love for us in beyond imagination. He loves us and as we meditate on that love and really consider what he paid to get us then we become filled with that same love towards others. It means we will show his love to others even if it costs us our lives. That is what he was saying in verse eleven. We should love each other with the same love that he has for us.
12. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
It is impossible to see God without looking through the eyes of love. We can clearly see him through the acts of love towards each other. Jesus says it was the Father in him that does the work. The same can be said about us and every act of love is a picture of our loving heavenly Father and his love for us.
13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
We know we dwell in him because he has given us his Spirit. That same Spirit of Love that is God, and lives in God, lives in us also, as we partake of his love and love each other. The Holy Spirit was given to us to teach us how much we are loved and how to love each other. Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would come and lead us into all truth. That truth is that Father loved the world so much he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life. Holy Spirit came to reveal the truth of Father’s love for us so that we would love each other the same way we are loved.
14. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
We know that Father sent Jesus to save the whole world. It should be obvious to us that he loves and wants to save everyone and we should see those who are lost with the same loving eyes he looks at them with. If it’s his heart to save the world then that should be the cry of our heart also. If we love others as he does then we won’t cry out for judgement but for mercy for all the people of the world. Love wants salvation and not destruction. Let’s pray for the salvation of the world and not for its destruction.
15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God becomes God’s home and God becomes his home. Since we are speaking in the context of love this is not just an acknowledgement that Jesus is God’s son. This is a confession from a loving heart that Jesus is God’s son. This is coming to an understanding that everything the Father said about him is true. He is the savior of the world and there is no other.
There is one way, one truth and one life and no one comes to the Father any other way. Which means that Jesus is the only way to be adopted into the family of God. No one comes to know God as Father except by him. Others may know him as God but only Jesus can bring you to a relationship with him as Father.
16. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
We have known and believed. This is a two part process. We have known and believed means that we have not only believed that God loves us but we have experienced that love first hand. The more we put our whole lives into this dwelling place called love the more we become God’s home and he becomes ours. We can learn to live in love and in God and are secure in him. This is the secret place spoken of in Psalm 91. While we are here let’s look at that promise of love.
Psalm 91
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in him will I trust.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side,
and ten thousand at thy right hand;
but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold
and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge,
even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me,
therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him,
and shew him my salvation.
Love is the secret place he was speaking about. There is a depth of God’s love that will keep us from all harm and evil. We must choose to make this place our home. We must choose to abide in this place of love to be safe.
We can clearly hear two voices in this psalm singing to each other. The voice of the Psalmist and the voice of the Lord. In the first part we hear the Psalmist speaking of Father’s protection as he speaks and says “I will say of the Lord, He is my fortress…” In all these verses he is speaking out loud to his own soul about the protection of the Lord. He is speaking these things to encourage himself. We know also he was speaking prophetically of Jesus but as he finishes speaking to his soul the Lord speaks through him. The Lord answers back and says:
Because he hath set his love upon me,
Therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him,
and shew him my salvation.
By knowing Father’s great love and abiding in that love we are moving into the secret place of God. All this protection was given because the psalmist set his love upon the Lord. How did he do that? He began proclaiming all the good things that God is and how much he is loved. He was thinking about how that the Lord is his protection and began to sing out praises to God for his protection. Isn't it just like our Father to protect us with a love song and not a sword?
We can learn to abide in this great place of safety if we will believe in the true message of his love.
Now back to our study of the words of John.
17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
What an amazing promise! We don’t have to fear judgment day. We are protected by his love and our sins are forgiven. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation and your old man was crucified with Christ and you have already been judged. Our sins are washed away and we will have boldness in the day of judgement not because of our own righteousness but because of his blood.
As he is so are we in this world. We are loved by our Father just as much as he loves Jesus. Because of what Jesus did for us we are just as righteous as he is. Dwelling in the love of God makes our love mature or perfect and we understand it was his plan all along to save us and not our own. He is our salvation.
18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
This is how we know if we are perfected in love. If we have any fear we still need to grow into his love. Perfect love casts out fear. His perfect love will drive all fear from us so that we can rest in his love. Once we fully understand how much he loves us we have nothing more to fear. Our sins are washed away by his blood and there is nothing but love flowing from our Father. He loves us and sees us just as he sees Jesus because we are in him.
19. We love him, because he first loved us.
18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
This is how we know if we are perfected in love. If we have any fear we still need to grow into his love. Perfect love casts out fear. His perfect love will drive all fear from us so that we can rest in his love. Once we fully understand how much he loves us we have nothing more to fear. Our sins are washed away by his blood and there is nothing but love flowing from our Father. He loves us and sees us just as he sees Jesus because we are in him.
19. We love him, because he first loved us.
The very love we love him with came from him. He loves us first and as we receive that love we can love him also and can love each other because we are loved.
We were lost and while we were still sinners he loved us and gave himself for us. His love for us was so great that he could not let sin stand between us. He is holy and without sin and we were sinners. Sin was stopping us from having a loving relationship with him. He became one of us and even became sin on the cross so that sin could no longer separate us from himself.
He destroyed sin by his love for us. The more we give in to that love the more sin loses its grip in our lives because we keep his commandments from a heart of love and not out of obligation.
We were lost and while we were still sinners he loved us and gave himself for us. His love for us was so great that he could not let sin stand between us. He is holy and without sin and we were sinners. Sin was stopping us from having a loving relationship with him. He became one of us and even became sin on the cross so that sin could no longer separate us from himself.
He destroyed sin by his love for us. The more we give in to that love the more sin loses its grip in our lives because we keep his commandments from a heart of love and not out of obligation.
Think about this. Would you rather have your spouse be true to you because they have an obligation to or because they love you? Would you rather have your children obey you because they have to or because they love you and want to do good because of that love? The why really does matter. Jesus is love and he came to show us how to love each other.
20. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
This is the proof that God’s love dwells in us. Once we accept God’s love and find that he loves us without limits and we taste of his love and forgiveness then it naturally reproduces love in our lives towards others. If we hate our brothers and sisters it is because we haven’t received God’s love and haven't completely given ourselves to him and his love. Once we fall in love with him we fall in love with all those who are loved by him. If we love him we love all those he loves. Even if they seem to be unlovable.
21. And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.
20. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
This is the proof that God’s love dwells in us. Once we accept God’s love and find that he loves us without limits and we taste of his love and forgiveness then it naturally reproduces love in our lives towards others. If we hate our brothers and sisters it is because we haven’t received God’s love and haven't completely given ourselves to him and his love. Once we fall in love with him we fall in love with all those who are loved by him. If we love him we love all those he loves. Even if they seem to be unlovable.
21. And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.
Isn't it amazing that God poured out his love for us by pouring out the blood of his only begotten son? He took our sins, sicknesses and torments and saved us from everlasting destruction. A holy God became sin to take away our sins and suffered the punishment of the sins of the whole world and all he asks in return is that we love each other?
I ask, no I beg of you my brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s put away our differences and love each other. Let’s judge each other with the same love and mercy we received from our Lord and let’s put away the divisions between us.
How about we abide in that secret place of love and love each other as we are loved? Why don’t we meditate on his great love for us and begin to love each other and be kind to each other? Yes there are differences in what we believe but not in who we believe in.
Let all of us who are born again put aside the small doctrinal differences and love each other unconditionally. Why don’t we all stop criticizing each other and practice loving each other as we are loved? Even better, why don’t we stop trying to love and become love?
I hope you are encouraged by these words.
I ask, no I beg of you my brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s put away our differences and love each other. Let’s judge each other with the same love and mercy we received from our Lord and let’s put away the divisions between us.
How about we abide in that secret place of love and love each other as we are loved? Why don’t we meditate on his great love for us and begin to love each other and be kind to each other? Yes there are differences in what we believe but not in who we believe in.
Let all of us who are born again put aside the small doctrinal differences and love each other unconditionally. Why don’t we all stop criticizing each other and practice loving each other as we are loved? Even better, why don’t we stop trying to love and become love?
I hope you are encouraged by these words.
Until next time,
Grow Rich in His Grace,
I love you all,
michael
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