GOD’S LOVE

The Truth About Love

Love What does it mean to honestly Love someone? I want to remind you Love is not available to be given to anyone or anything unless you have first restored the true Love between you and the Father. Even in a marriage, or your family you do not know how to give or receive real foundational Love without have felt the Love of God first.

When we state that we “Love someone”, are we just going through the motions or are we attempting to Love as Christ Loved the Church. In John 3:16–18 The actions that are spoken of in this passage must take place before we can begin to even understand the depths of the Love of the Father. “16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

We must first believe the scriptures and acknowledge our relationship with the father, and it starts with our faith to believe and then we can begin to experience the fullness of the Love of God. Other wise the Love we are attempting to express is an adulterated version of Love which is sown into the world by Satan.

1 Corinthians 13:1–8 “1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.

Lets take a close look at this passage it highlights some very important things Paul is saying to the Church at Corinth.

Lets look at verses 1-3 first.

Point 1 - Grace Gifts

Here the Apostle Paul is taking an opportunity to introduce the Grace-gifts of Tongues, Prophesy, and Knowledge. These three gifts are looked upon by the Elite. Paul is warning the Corinthians to not seek or practice these gifts their own person. He is telling them even if these gifts are present and love does not stand first then the exercise of these gifts are as a noise symbol or just noise period. Paul stresses the gifts should be used under the control of the Holy Spirit not in self.

As we think about this today we should see there is no place for the gifts to be used without the presence and moveing of the Holy Spirit. These gifts do no elevate us in our status as a church member, or in any other way. Yes we should seek these gifts but not for status or appearance but for the fact they are of the Father. This also shows when a person or persons use the gifts with the wrong motive the person becomes just like the symbol a noise and irrelevant. When used properly tongues are for the edification of the church when interpertation is made of the tongue. Other prayer tongues are to God and individual to each person who has this gift.

Remember the greater the gift in Corinth the greater the status a person was thought to have. This is nothing but an attempt by Satin to degrade the Spiritual Gifts of the Father.

Point 2 - In Depth Love

Lets first understand what happens to man when he is born into this world. We need to be sure we understand when we are born it is into a world of Sin.

In this particular passage the Sin was pride and boastfulness over the spiritual Gifts, of Tongues, Phrophecy and Knowledge. This inproper uses of these gifts and the desire to have a gift making you more superior than your fellow man. Desiring is not the issue it the wanting to be greater than others.

Love is a way of being as a person, Love is a way or method of Thinking, a way we act, a way we live, and being Christ-Like. Love is so invasive that it affects the whole way life is conducted. Lets look at the way Christ love is shown to us.

Look at this verse in Romans Chapter 8

Romans 8:9–11 “9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Here is the link for these two verses.

In the period of the early church the function of Love as an excellent thing was there’s for the taking. This love would have appeared very differently it would appear as an imitation of Christs Love, That Jesus came to this earth and was born as a man knowing in full without any doubt the circumstances he would face, Yes he knew about Trials, He knew about the beatings, He knew about the cross, but the real demonstration of perfect Love is the empty tomb.

Romans 5:8 “8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

In the death and resurrection of Jesus came pure Love with no motives.

Loves Attributes -

Forbearing- polite or patiently restrain from doing something on impulse

Kind- having s friendly, generous, and considerate nature

However it could also be a group of people of similiar nature and characteristics

does not envy - desire to have the quality, possession, or other desirable attributes belonging to someone else

does not boast

is not puffed up

doesnot behave rudly

is not provolk to anger

it does not record wrong

does not rejoice at evil or

Rejoices in the truth.

Here the early church does not yet fully understand the depth and breath and width of the Love of God.

Verse 7

Love puts up with all things (stumbeling blocks)

believes all things (This is a very tricky piece here. Does this mean that love believes everything? Believes all things God has promissed)

hopes all things - This Hope Is all Promises once again maid by the father

endures all things - afflictions

This 4 Characteristics paul mentions here is Gods love at work in each of us Love is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We need to understand that the first and last here are to set up htat Belief and Hope can never go away they must stay centered in our lives.

Application - Love like Christ in every situation. for Greater is he that is in you - Love of God dwells in you when you receive christ as savior. So if you don’t know him you can and experience the awesomness of the Love of Christ, pure not changed by the devil.