God is love

Sermon notes from Sunday 20 October 2019

Romans 5 verses 8, 10, 11, 1 John 4 verses 7 - 10, 12, 1 Corinthians 13 verses 1, 4, 8 and 13

We know that God is holy.  We know that God is just and we know that God is righteous but we have read some verses this morning reminding us that God is love.  It is one of his attributes.  It is something that characterises God.  The theologians would speak of the attributes of God.  Those things that characterise God.  We have referred to some of them.  He is holy.  He is just.  He is righteous.  He is all seeing.  He is all knowing.  There is nothing that escapes him even this morning.  He knows my heart and he knows your heart.  He knows our thoughts before we think of them.  "Invisible, immortal God only wise, light inaccessible hid from our eyes."  God is a spirit.  We cannot see God but we can know him.  God is love.  When we come to the Bible as regards love there is a lot of firsts mentioned.  If you only want to find out the meaning of a word find it in the bible.  When God mentions something for the last time that is solemn too.  In relation to love it is very interesting when it is first mentioned and its instruction.  In Genesis 22 God speaks to Abraham "take now thy son, thy only son whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah to one of the mountains I will tell you of."  The love the father had for his son.  That is the first mention of love.  Jacob had 12 sons but  Joseph was his favourite.  He proved his love for Joseph and made him a coat of many colours.  David and Jonathan loved each other, they were bosom friends.  David could say "thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women."  Human love.  A mother`s love is cherished.  The word of God is teaching us "let us love one another."  Love is of God.  In John 15 Jesus was speaking to his own disciples.  Love displays God.  God is a spirit.  We cannot see God.  In fact in 1 John 4 "no man has seen God at any time."  "If we love one another God dwelleth in us and his love is perfect in us."  Is that love amongst us?  There is something we should cultivate in our own lives to display that love.  Let us love one another for love is of God.  John 15 verse 9  The Lord is exhorting his own to love one another.  Love is being transmitted.  Love originates with God.  God is love.  He is the very essence of love.  Love is with the father.  Verse 9.  Now translated to the son.  "and so have I loved you."  The father transmits his love to the son and the son transmits it to the believer.  "continue in my love."  We are to continue in and love by doing so.  We are manifesting it to others, declaring it to others.  The scriptures really doesn`t define love but love is manifested, shown not defined.  The onus is on us  Love one another by doing, so declaring that love to others.  It was written of the early disciples how they loved one another.  Love receives and love gives.  Interesting that love is not passive but active.  God`s love goes further.  "God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."  God commendeth, God demonstrates.  I am going to show you by demonstration.  He tells us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.  This is not calling us to clean up our act then my love will fall into place.  God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for you.  It is us that is in the plural.  John is writing that Christ died for us.  It is amazing we read those verses in John 4 "herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins."  This is for sinners, guilty, hell deserving and lake of fire sinners.  God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.  Not that he loved us but gave himself for us.  He is the atoning sacrifice in a simple way.  Christ`s death is an atonement.  Forgave me, elementary explanation.  Take the word attain and divide it in 2, add one reconciliation.  Atonement means to reconcile.  That is why read in Romans 5 verse 10 "for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."  You have accepted Christ.  Look back to a day when accepted Christ, you are reconciled to God, at one with God through the death of his son.  You could come to a church all your life and go to hell.  "we were reconciled to God by the death of his son."  An appreciation of the man who died upon the cross.  The death of Christ, his atoning substitutionary work on the cross for sinners like me and you.