This is the season that culture focuses on love. The term “love” has been loosely defined over the years as it has been applied to terms of endearment in relationships, to the love of candy, and even cars among other things! I believe that as Paul says in Ephesians 3: 17-19 that it is time that we as believers become rooted and grounded in love; to grasp what is the width and length and height and depth of love; to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so we may be filled up with all the fullness of God.” I John 4: 7-21 speaks of God’s loving nature; that love is not merely an attribute of God; it is a part of His very makeup. Since God is eternal—the self-existent one, the essence of love existed with Him both before and after His creation and will exist after time ends. Isaiah 48: 12-13 says, “I am He; I am the first; I am also the last. Surely My hand founded the earth, My right hand spread out the heavens. When I call to them, they stand together.”
If we are to truly understand the depth of God’s love, we must examine the essence of God in the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the Scriptures it is written that “God is love.” The Father is the source of all love. The object of His Love is the Son, the Messiah, who is called in Matthew 3: 17, “My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Beloved means “dear to my heart.” Then the love that emanates from the Father to the Son is the Spirit—His Spirit of love. Jonathan Cahn expresses it this way: “The Lover, the Beloved, and the Love itself…the triunity of love…both three and one at the same time…the triunity of God.” God has made us the object of His love according to 1 Cor. 2: 9: “Things no eye has seen and no ear has heard, that have not entered the heart of mankind—these things God has prepared for those who love Him.”
The God of love—Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always existed even before the creation of mankind. In Hebrew there is no word for universe and is translated “heavens and earth.” We learn from Paul and John that there are three levels of heaven. The first is the atmosphere around the earth, the second is where the moon and stars are, and the third heaven is the abode of God where God sits upon His throne. Psalms 103: 19-20 says: “The LORD has set up His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, you angels of His; mighty in strength, performing His word, upon hearing the utterance of His word.” God created a host of angels in His heavenly abode. We learn from scripture that they are numerous angels (Hebrews 12:22, Rev. 5: 11); that there are divisions and hierarchy among them and always in the masculine gender (Michael, Gabriel. Lucifer); that their habitation is in heaven around the Throne of God; they are spirits but power is given them to become visible in the likeness of human form. (Gen. 19:1—the days of Lot) Angels were created by God to be His messengers—to do His bidding, to please Him, and to bring honor and glory to His Name. (Rev. 5: 12) The angels were created with free will as we learn from the account of Lucifer, an anointed cherubim of the highest order, in Isaiah 14: 12-17 and Ezekiel 28: 11-19. Lucifer had been the object of God’s love as he was created with great beauty and talent and given a position of high authority as guardian over God’s Throne. He rejected that love and rebelled against God becoming Satan—the Adversary of His plan and was banished from heaven along with one third of the angels who followed him. We learn from this account that love is a choice.
God’s love depends on His character which He will not compromise as He is perfect in all His ways. His absolute righteousness and holiness demands the penalty of justice to be administered. Therefore, God had to address the conflict in which the fallen angels pitted themselves against Him, against the elect angels who chose to remain in their place of creation and allegiance to a Holy God. Angelic free will had an opportunity under God’s grace and rejected it and judgment had to be applied. The spiritual battle that still continues today between good and evil was born.
A loving God created the heavens and the Earth. God’s desire is to have a relationship with His creation that will respond to Him in love and obedience. God’s plan for the creation of mankind in His likeness was already in place as we read God’s love story written in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation! As we know, Adam and Eve were created by God and placed in a perfect environment where they enjoyed fellowship and relationship with Him. God gave them one command that forbid them to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Humans were tested in the same manner as the angels were: 1. Both began in innocence in a perfect environment 2. Both were given freewill 3. Both were presented a choice whether to obey or disobey God. As we know from the accounts in Isaiah 14 and Genesis 3, both fell short of the glory of God and sinned. We must remember that there is a dark side of His love—perfect love requires perfect justice and righteousness. God who knows the beginning to the end already had a plan in place to demonstrate and uphold His Divine character. This spiritual battle could only be resolved by the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8)
The answer to the sin problem and separation from God is summed up in probably the most quoted of all scriptures—John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God was willing to put Himself in the shoes of mankind—to become one of us—to feel our feelings, walk in our shoes, weep with our tears, rejoice in our joys, take upon Himself our burdens and to give us His life! Jesus would come to shed His innocent blood on the Cross so that we can be forgiven for our sins and become a child of God as He originally desired. God would put Himself in our place and take upon Himself our judgment and our death to save us and give us life. This was the ultimate demonstration of the height and depth of God’s love—He would lay down His life for us—all in love! Jesus has won the victory over sin and death for whoever believes in, trusts in, and relies on Him will be saved! Love is a choice. Now, do we more fully understand the passage from Luke 15: 7-10 that says: “the angels rejoice over the sinner who repents (chooses Christ).” These elect angels who continually please God rejoice and cheer mankind on as God has triumphed over evil!
According to 1 John 4: 19-21, “We love Him because He first loved us.” This means that our love for God is a response to His love for us, and we have the capacity to express that love without fear because He modeled it for us. Our love for God is completed in us, and we have confidence in the day of judgment because of His love that has kept us from condemnation. This kind of life-saving love is what God has shown us and is what we are expected to show each other. Acting out of love is not exclusive to God but consists of loving both God and other people. The first three of the Ten Commandments refer to the love of God; the next seven the love of neighbor. When Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees in Matthew 22, He summarizes the Ten Commandments into two concise directives: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”
Therefore, the evidence that we are children of God is this divine love dwelling in us. “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him and He is us, because He has given us of His Spirit…God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4: 13-14) Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would live and abide in us forever. The evidence that the promise is true is seen in the fruit the Holy Spirit bears in our lives. The New Testament teaches us that the fruit of His abiding in us is love (Gal. 5: 22-23) When the Holy Spirit fills our hearts, we see men and women as Jesus sees them. There is no greater ministry for the believer in Christ to do than to demonstrate and share the love of God in Jesus Christ to those who have never heard or seen it in action. Again, love is a choice. I pray the Spirit of love leads us to the individuals who have never experienced the love of God. May the Holy Spirit break our hearts with the things that break the heart of God. Just as Jesus focused on pleasing His Father, we should strive to please Him by living with virtue: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” (2 Cor. 5:9) According to Ephesians 5:10 we are to find out what pleases the Lord; Colossians 1:10 tells us to “live worthy of the Lord and please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” R.C. Sproul said: “Every Christian should have a passion to please God. We are to delight in honoring Him. It is our greatest pleasure to please our Redeemer.” God’s love must be experienced in us and then will be experienced through us. Let’s make it our assignment this week to meditate on 1 Corinthians 13 that details in full God’s Superior Way of Love! This is the kind of love the Church needs—what we all need—the Spirit of love—the love-producing Spirit! If we are to convince the world to believe that our Christian faith is Divine—then let us with one heart, with one voice, with one mind, unite to plead with God, that He would pour out His Holy Spirit upon us as “the Spirit of love.” Father, show us how to please you at such a time as this. Fill the hearts of Your Body of Christ with the supernatural power of Your Spirit so that Jesus may be glorified, Satan dethroned and the adversaries of the cross confounded, that Your Kingdom come—Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In the Name of Jesus, AMEN”