Trinitarian Love

Psalm 117 / John 14: 15-21

The Love of the Father

God’s gracious Love in Election:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

God’s Fierce Love of protection:

Isaiah 43:1-5 “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.”

God’s Love in preparing a bride;

Abraham sent his servant (Gen 24) to get a bride for Isaac

The Song of the Bridegroom

Isaiah 62:1-5 “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. 2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. 3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Rev 19:6-8 “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

The Love of the Son

The Love of Christ over crowds

Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

The Love of Christ over those closest to him

John 11:5-6 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.”

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

John 19:26-27 “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

The timing of Christ’s Love:

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

The Love of The Spirit

The sending - a new era, with emphasis on Spiritual guidance

Old Testament: Emphasis on Father, shadows and promises

Gospels: Emphasis on Christ, the Son - The focal point (but also the exact imprint of the father; if you know the Son, you know the Father)

New Testament Era: The Spirit comes to the fore; at first in miraculous sign, then sustaining, regenerating, leading, and revealing the Son

The Spirit is particularly sent:

v16 - the world cannot receive HIm

v18-24 - the effects of The Spirit in love, in revelation, in relationship

The Love of The Spirit

v15 - Comforter? Advocate? Helper?

Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains (12.19 παράκλητος, ου)

The principal difficulty encountered in rendering παράκλητος is the fact that this term covers potentially such a wide area of meaning. The traditional rendering of ‘Comforter’ is especially misleading because it suggests only one very limited aspect of what the Holy Spirit does. A term such as ‘Helper’ is highly generic and can be particularly useful in some languages. In certain instances, for example, the concept of ‘Helper’ is expressed idiomatically, for example, ‘the one who mothers us’ or, as in one language in Central Africa, ‘the one who falls down beside us,’ that is to say, an individual who upon finding a person collapsed along the road, kneels down beside the victim, cares for his needs, and carries him to safety.

Friends, as our nation celebrates today the love of the formative women in our lives; our mothers, grandmothers, and the many other motherly figures and influences, let us thank God for such. but also recognize where the fierce; unending, multi-faceted, much needed mother’s love comes from; it is a direct gift, and revealing trait of our great God.