Does God Love Me?
Measureless: God's Love • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Does God Love Me?
All You Need Is Love: The Beatles ‧ 1967
Great song but is love all we need? What kind of love? And from who?
Sermon series: Measureless: God’s Love
Measureless: without measure; unlimited; immeasurable
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
Have you ever doubted God loves you? Maybe you never fully understood it. Or maybe it is another reason God might reveal to you today through His word and His Spirit.
Let’s define love.
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
The English language has one word for love. (I love cake and I love Tammy)
Eros: Romantic, passionate
Philia: Deep friendship or "brotherly love”
Agape: C.S. Lewis defined it this way. This is selfless, unconditional, and universal love. It's a love of choice and will, extended to all people, including strangers and enemies. In a Christian context, it is used to describe God's love for humanity and is considered the highest form of love.
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
This is one of three expressions in John’s writings that help us understand the nature of God:
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
He is not flesh and blood. Jesus Christ now has a glorified body in heaven, and one day we shall have bodies like His body. But being by nature spirit, God is not limited by time and space the way we are.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
This refers to His holy nature. In the Bible, light is a symbol of holiness and darkness is a symbol of sin. God cannot sin because He is Holy.
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God is love and God is light; therefore, His love is a Holy Love. - perfect!
Why is this so important to understand?
Our understanding of love is shaped by our sinful human relationships, which are often imperfect and conditional.
We are accustomed to love that is earned, that can fade, or that is given with the expectation of something in return.
Because this is the only kind of love we have ever known, the concept of a holy love, a perfect love that is completely unconditional, not deserved, and unchanging can feel foreign and difficult to believe.
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Everyone can love people who love them / Agape love - Unconditional Love.
What is the difference between them? One knows God and the other does not.
Which am I? - Since God’s nature exhibits love as a chief characteristic, God’s children will also reflect that love which you will see in a few verses.
How do we know that God loves us?
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
He is not satisfied simply to tell us that He loves us, or even show us that He loves us. God’s desire is to live in us and through us.
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We are not saved by loving Christ; we are saved by believing in Christ (John 3:16). But after we realize what He did for us on the cross, our enthusiastic response ought to be to love Him and to love one another.
11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
complete / perfect / finished
John’s argument in verses 7–12 can be summed up as: love originated in God, was display and show in His Son, and demonstrated in His people.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.
How do I know I am a true believer in Christ? You will see fruit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
God is Spirit and God is Love = Holy Agape Love
It flows out of the Christ follower as we become more and more like Him.
Does this happen all the time? No, because we still have our sinful nature. But when we listen to God’s Spirit speak to us and we listen and obey… It could happen more times than not. But we have to chose to listen.
*Teaching a ministry class and had a rude and disrespectful adult student. I was mad and angry. At the break I sensed God’s spirit telling me to calm down and ask to have lunch with her and hear her story.
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.
complete / perfect - confidence
Judgment Day: Diplomatic Immunity?
Imagine a diplomat from France is sent to live and work in the United States. She is a French citizen, representing her country.
One day, while driving, she accidentally runs a red light. The local police pull her over. According to the laws of the United States, she should get a ticket and have to go to court.
But because she has diplomatic immunity, the laws of the United States don't fully apply to her. She can't be arrested or prosecuted. Why? Because her primary identity is not as a resident of the U.S., but as a representative of France. She operates under the authority and protection of her home country. Her "immunity" comes from who she represents.
Think of it like this:
Diplomatic Analogy Spiritual Reality
The Foreign Country This World (We live here, but it's not our permanent home.)
The Diplomat You (The Christian) (You are a citizen of heaven, living on assignment here on Earth.)
The Home Country The Kingdom of God (This is where your true citizenship is.)
The Laws of the Foreign Country The Law of Sin and Death (The universal consequence for wrongdoing and imperfection.)
Facing the Local Court The Day of Judgment (The day when all accounts are settled.)
Your Diplomatic Passport Being "like Jesus" (This is your proof of identity. It shows who you belong to and who you represent.)
The Reason for Our "Immunity"
Here's the key point: The French diplomat doesn't avoid a ticket because she's a perfect driver. She might have actually been guilty of running the red light!
Her confidence and protection come from her identity, not her perfect performance. The local police don't see "a driver who broke the law"; they see "a representative of France."
This is exactly what 1 John 4:17 is saying. Our confidence on Judgment Day doesn't come from the fact that we have lived a perfect life. We all mess up—we run spiritual "red lights."
Our confidence comes from our identity. When God looks at us, He doesn't see a person with a list of mistakes. If we have lived in His love, He sees a family resemblance. He sees His own Son, Jesus. We are representatives of His Kingdom.
So, on the Day of Judgment, we are not judged by the harsh "laws of the land" (sin and death) because we have spiritual diplomatic immunity. Our identity in Jesus protects us from the ultimate penalty. We don't have to be afraid of the judgment, because we are part of the Judge's own family.
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
As we grow in the love of God, we cease to be fearful of what He will do.
*A pastor I know received his daughters report card with D and C- / The daughter and her friends were worried about what her dad would do to her. He thought this would be the perfect opportunity to teach his teenage daughter a lesson on God’s love and grace. He told her how disappointed he was with her because she did not done her best. She admitted she had slacked off and asked, what is my punishment?
19 We love because he first loved us.
Because you didn't deserve the love of God, you can't undeserved the love of God.
Because you didn’t take it, He gave it, you can’t lose it.
Once Jesus decides to love you, there is nothing you can do about it forever.
Surrender to His Love, Love him back to the best of your ability, Love others with His Spirit as He has loved you.
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
