2024-09-22 Sermon Notes1
💡Big Idea
Takeaways and Next Steps
📖Bible Passage
1 John 4:16
Points
- What does Paul say about the love of God in Romans 8?
- God is love
- We see this statement also in 1 John 4:8
- We will look at:
- 3 things this does not mean
- 3 things that this does mean
- 3 things that this should teach us
- 3 things this does NOT mean:
- It does not mean that love is God
- Many people will say that God is love and therefore that God does not condemn. This is not taught in the Bible.
- Or people will say that God is primarily love. As if there were gradations
- Yet God is one in Himself, and all of God's attributes are one.
- If we say God is primarily love than we end up with selfishness and hedonism, and being a god unto one's self.
- If we say that God is primarily justice, then we end up with legalism
- God is infinite in love and holiness and justice and goodness and all the other attributes of God
- God is not a hateful, spiteful and capricious God.
- It does not mean that anything that we deem is loving is God
- It does not mean that love is God
- 3 things that this DOES mean:
- God is love in His very essence.
- God IS love. It is part of God's own essence.
- The Bible also says
- God IS spirit. It does not say God has a spirit.
- God IS light. It does not say God has light.
- God is love in Himself. He's not just loving to others. He is love.
- God is even loving amongst the three Persons of the Trinity, even in eternity past.
- God cannot NOT be love. He must be love. It is core to who He is.
- Love is not merely part of God. God does not have parts.
- God is not merely at a higher level of love than we are.
- It is not as if there is some standard of love that is higher than Him, that He corresponds to. No God IS love.
- God does not derive love from some other source.
- His love is self-generating.
- The moon simply reflects the light of the sun. But the sun is the source of light itself. Such is God.
- His love is self-generating.
- We couldn't possibly exhaust all of God's love. There is no limit to His love.
- Spurgeon: We can no more exhaust the love of God, than a little fish could drink up all the oceans of the world. So drink up little fish.
- Martin Luther: If there were a thousand worlds, one drop of Christ's blood as all the infinity in it necessary to save a thousand worlds.
- Jonathan Edwards has a sermon named Heaven is a world of love.
- God is love means that this is essential to God's very identity.
- What was in eternity past. Nothing, except for God.
- So how could God be love, if there is nothing to love.
- Love requires an object, something that is loved.
- God is both the subject and the object.
- God is both the lover and the beloved.
- This is why John 1 says both that the Word was with God and the Word was God.
- The answer is that God loves Himself.
- There's nothing wrong with God loving Himself, because God is good, pure and holy and worthy of love.
- The Bible numerously repeats that the Father loves the Son.
- In fact, the Father, Spirit and Son love each other and have always loved each other.
- Love requires an object, something that is loved.
- So how could God be love, if there is nothing to love.
- What was in eternity past. Nothing, except for God.
- God is love and therefore God displays His love:
- God chose to allow creation to see and experience His love
- He especially loves His elect. His people.
- God loves all His creation, but He does not love all His creation equally.
- John 17:26: God's elect are the love gift of God.
- God chose to allow creation to see and experience His love
- God is love in His very essence.
- How should we then live
- We should treasure the love of God in our hearts.
- Romans 5:5: this is what we should treasure more and more and more.
- Ask for God to pour His love into your heart through the Holy Spirit.
- Romans 5:5: this is what we should treasure more and more and more.
- This love should cause us to worship the triune God:
- Jesus loves you with the same eternal, unchangeable and infinite love that the Father loves His Son. John 17:26
- This should compel you to worship Him. We should want to bring Him all the honor and glory and honor that belongs to Him (and to Him alone).
- Jesus loves you with the same eternal, unchangeable and infinite love that the Father loves His Son. John 17:26
- We should love one another sacrificially out of the love of Christ:
- John is saying that a believer ought to be willing to die for another believer, because it is what Christ did for us.
- Sin naturally turns us inward into selfishness.
- We should treasure the love of God in our hearts.
Application
Further Study
💬Discussion Questions
2024-09-22 Sermon Notes1
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On this page
💡Big Idea
Takeaways and Next Steps
📖Bible Passage
Points
Application
Further Study
💬Discussion Questions