The spiritual struggle for renewal in the church: renewing the church’s most important quality

1 John 4:7–19 NLT

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.

Ephesians 4:11–16 NLT

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Revelation 2:1–7 NLT

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

In each of these passages, the word translated “love” comes from the Greek word ἀγάπῃ (agape), which can be translated as unconditional love

God loves us unconditionally.

Anything that is “unconditional” is not subject to conditions or limitations. Nor is it dependent upon certain responses being produced.

++Let’s look at what it means for God to love us unconditionally.

A. God does not love us sentimentally. His love corrects us and disciplines us. In love he chastens us. Revelation 3:19 says, “Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten” (RSV).

B. God loves us whether we respond or not.

C. God’s unconditional love has no limits. He loves all people everywhere. His love is not limited to friends; it also includes enemies.

D. God’s unconditional love is not based on our performance. He loves us in spite of our disobedience, rebellion, selfishness, and weakness.

God expects us to love unconditionally how can we do this?

A. We love others whatever their response.

B. We love others without setting limits for our love. We love everyone. We refuse no one. We love constantly, even as Jesus loved his disciples. He loved them to the end.

C. We love others based not on what they do but on who they are. Our love is not based on another person’s abilities, actions, or attitudes.

D. We love others without expectations. ++When we love with expectations and those expectations are not fulfilled, we tend to become inwardly hurt. So we love according to their needs and not our expectations. If we yield our expectations of the other person to God, not only are we free to love, but the other person is free to respond.