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AN INCOMPREHENSIBLE GOD:

Grasping for an Understanding

 

God Is Love

Lesson #8

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    The Bible says that God is love.

1.      I John 4:8

 

He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.

 

2.      I John 4:16

 

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.  God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in you, and God in him.

 

B.      This God who is love stands in stark contrast to the gods of love in Greek mythology.

1.      Eros

a.      The Greek god of love, lust, sexual activity, and fertility.

b.      The Romans referred to him as Cupid.

2.      Imeros:  the god of intense erotic desire, the erotic craving.

3.      Aphrodite:  the goddess of beauty and illicit sex, and, less frequently, she protected marital life.

4.      NOTE:  When the gods of the Greeks and Romans were involved in love, most of the time it involved the fulfillment of fleshly lusts and passions.  Marital love was seldom involved.  If it was, it was a peripheral matter.

 

I.                   GOD IS LOVE (II Cor. 13:11)

 

Finally, brethren, farewell.  Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

 

A.    God’s very nature is love.

 

B.      All love that exists springs from God.

 

C.     NOTE:  God’s love does not involve the sinful lusts of man.  God’s love is not responsible for illicit sexual behavior practiced by mankind.

 

II.                A DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S LOVE

 

A.    In I Corinthians 13, Paul sets forth a beautiful description of God’s love.

 

B.      In verses 4-16, Paul lists 16 descriptions of love.  God can be seen in every quality that is listed.

1.      God suffers long.

2.      God is kind.

3.      God envieth not.

4.      God vaunteth not Himself.

5.      God is not puffed up.

6.      God does not behave unseemly.

7.      God seeketh not His own.

8.      God is not easily provoked.

9.      God thinketh no evil.

10.  God rejoices not in iniquity.

11.  God rejoices in the truth.

12.  God bears all things.

13.  God believes all things.

14.  God hopes all things.

15.  God endures all things.

16.  God never fails.

 

III.             OTHER ATTRIBUTES OF GOD’S LOVE

 

A.    Active:  He gave (John 3:16).

 

B.      Changeless:  with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17).

 

C.     Disciplines:  as many as He loves he rebukes and chastens (Rev. 3:19).

 

D.    Everlasting:  Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3)

 

E.      Great:  for his great love wherewith he loved us (Eph. 2:4)

 

F.      Forgiving:  unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood (Rev. 1:5).

 

G.     Freely (voluntarily):  I will love them freely (Hos. 14:4)

 

H.    Incomprehensible:  and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge (Eph. 3:19).

 

I.        Inseparable:  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Rom. 8:35-39).

 

J.        Kind:  in his kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:7).

 

K.     Motivating:  The love of Christ constraineth us (II Cor. 5:14).

 

L.      Personal:  brethren beloved of the Lord (II Thess. 2:13).

 

M.   Pure:  for thou alone art holy (Rev. 15:4).

 

N.    Relational:  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God (I John 3:1).

 

O.    Sacrificial:  as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour (Eph. 5:2).

 

P.      Unusual:  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).

 

IV.             ANOTHER WORD THAT EMBRACES LOVE IS “MERCY”

 

A.    One of the definitions of mercy is “lovingkindness.”  In the American Standard Version (ASV), this is the way the word is always translated.

 

B.      Examples from the psalms:

1.      All the paths of Jehovah are lovingkindness (Ps. 25:10).

2.      …the earth is full with the lovingkindness of Jehovah (Ps. 33:5).

3.      How precious is thy lovingkindness (Ps. 36:7).

4.      The lovingkindness of God endureth continually (Ps. 52;1).

5.      My God with his lovingkindness will meet me (Ps. 59:10).

6.      Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise thee (Ps. 63:3).

7.      For great is thy lovingkindness toward me (Ps. 86:13).

8.      Jehovah is gracious, and merciful; Slow to anger, and of great lovingkindness.

9.      Psalm 107 has these words repeated numerous times:  O that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness.

10.  Psalm 136 has these words repeated numerous times:  that his lovingkindness endureth forever.

 

V.                GOD’S LOVE IS THE SOURCE OF MAN’S LOVE

 

A.    Our love for God (I John 4:19)

 

We love him, because he first loved us.

 

B.      Our love for one another (I John 4:11)

 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

 

C.     Our love for our enemies (Matt. 5:44; Rom. 5:9-11)

 

But I say unto you, Love your enemies…

 

D.    Our love is to be patterned after His love (John 13:34-35).

 

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

 

VI.             THE DIMENSIONS OF THE LOVE OF GOD (Eph. 3:17-19)

 

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

 

A.    Breadth:  God’s love is wide enough to include every man, woman, and child of accountable age from every generation since the creation (the world, John 3:16).

 

B.      Length:  The length to which God love went was in the giving of His precious Son on the cross of Calvary (laid down his life for us, I John 4:16a).

 

C.     Depth:  God’s love reaches down to the lowest elements of society (and such were some of you, I Cor. 6:9-11).

D.    Height:  God’s love raises mankind up to sit in high and holy places (hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places, Eph. 2:6).

 

VII.          GOD’S LOVE IS EXPERIENCED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

 

A.    I John 4:9-10

 

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

B.      Jesus shows us two things about the love of God.

1.      What God’s love looks like.

2.      Just how much God love us.

 

VIII.       GOD’S LOVE IS WIDELY ACCEPTED, BUT WRONGLY MISUNDERSTOOD

 

A.    A loving God would not condemn anyone to hell.

 

B.      God is love and understands my disobedience and unfaithfulness.

 

C.     God’s love wants me to be happy here on earth. (NOTE:  Often used to justify adulterous relationships).

 

D.    God’s love accepts me even though I have not met the conditions of salvation.

 

E.      God operates according to the human definition of love.

 

F.      God does not really love man.  If he did, he would not tolerate human suffering.

 

G.     God’s love means an easy life in His service.

 

H.    God’s love will bring every faithful Christian riches and prosperity.

 

IX.              GOD’S LOVE IS DESIGNED FOR A RESPONSE FROM MAN

 

A.    I John 4:9

 

We love him, because he first loved us.

 

B.      The response from man is love expressed in obedience to God’s commands.

1.      John 14:15

 

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

 

2.      John 14:21

 

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me…

 

3.      John 14:23

 

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words:  and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

 

4.      I John 5:3

 

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandment:  and his commandments are not grievous.

 

C.     EVERY command that each of us obeys is proof to God that we love Him.

1.      Being baptized (Acts 10:48)

2.      Attending worship services (Heb. 10:25)

3.      Studying our Bibles (II Tim. 2:15)

4.      Being an active member of the local congregation (Eph. 4:16)

5.      Refusing to love the world and the things in the world (I John 2:15).

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    In his book, Gleanings in the Godhead, Arthur Pink makes two interesting statements about God’s love and man.

1.      “There are many who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love.”

2.      “The divine love is commonly regarded as a species of amiable weakness, a sort of good-natured indulgence; it is reduced to a mere sickly sentiment, patterned after human emotion.”

 

B.      When man has a true understanding of the love of God, he finds that it is holy, extremely strong, willing to sacrifice all, and refuses to be committed to boundaries.  It involves emotion, but it is not ruled by emotion.  The love of God has manifested itself in deed and in truth as well. 

 

C.     Our prayer for every man is found in I Thessalonians 3:5.

 

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God Is Love

Lesson #8

Homework

Victor M. Eskew

 

1.      When man created a god of love, why does he always focus upon unholy desires and illicit sex?

 

2.      Which of the attributes of love found in I Corinthians 13:4-8 are you most glad God possesses?

 

3.      Why does man often refuse to see discipline as part of love?

 

4.      T – F    The love of God motivates you to faithful service.  If not, why?

 

5.      What is incomprehensible about the love of God?

 

6.      Did you know that God’s mercy also encompasses God’s love?

 

7.      God freely loved His enemies.  Do you find that this is difficult for you to do?

 

8.      T – F    The church does a good job of loving one another as God loved us.

 

9.      Which one of the four dimensions of God’s love really intrigues you?

 

10.  Are you glad God demonstrated His love through Jesus?  If so, why?

 

11.  Have you ever misunderstood God’s love?

 

12.  Which one of the misunderstandings of God’s love do you believe is the most common today?

 

13.  Does your obedience to God truly display love for God?

 

14.  Do you see love as something that is weak or something that is strong?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God Is Love

Lesson #8

Homework

Victor M. Eskew

 

1.      When man created a god of love, why does he always focus upon unholy desires and illicit sex?

 

A.    Because man is fallen, he focuses on the flesh more than upon spiritual things.

 

B.      Fulfilling unholy desires and practicing illicit sex is more fun than being discipline in a loving, marital relationship.

 

2.      Which of the attributes of love found in I Corinthians 13:4-8 are you most glad God possesses?

 

A.    I am glad that God’s love is longsuffering.  If not, He would have been fed up with me long ago.

 

B.      I am glad God did not seek His own.  Instead, He gave up His own that I might live.

 

3.      Why does man often refuse to see discipline as part of love?

 

A.    Discipline brings pain.

 

B.      Man is often caught up in the here and now rather than looking to the good to come from discipline in the future.

 

C.     Sometimes man does not practice discipline the way God intended it.  Perhaps it was, or, bordered, on being abuse.

 

4.      T – F    The love of God motivates you to faithful service.  If not, why?

 

A.    Even though we believe we have strong faith, we often live in the world of “ifs.”  If God exists.  If God truly loved me this way.  If He did, then, yes, God’s love should motivate me to be as faithful as I possibly can.

 

B.      To accept the demonstration of God’s love, we must have faith.  Sometimes our faith wanes.  When it does, we are not as faithful as we should.

 

C.     If I can really understand and appreciate God’s love, it should motivate me.  It is like unto our parent’s love for us.  We know they loved us, therefore, we do not want to harm their family name in any way.

 

5.      What is incomprehensible about the love of God?

 

A.    God’s love truly loves all.  It is not merely a mouthing of the words.  He truly loves all, even those who would destroy Him if they could.  He even loves those who deny Him vehemently. 

 

B.      Brother Hearn used to say:  “It is hard to love a snake in the grass.”

 

 

 

6.      Did you know that God’s mercy also encompasses God’s love?

 

A.    I knew that mercy was often connected to God’s love, just like kindness is.  I had never heard mercy defined as loving kindness, however.

 

B.      Loving kindness, however, is what makes a person reach out to assist another.  It guides the type of assistance that is rendered.

 

7.      God freely loved His enemies.  Do you find that this is difficult for you to do?

 

A.    Yes.

 

B.      What gets in my way?

1.      Anger toward my enemy.

2.      Hatred of my enemy.

3.      A desire to get even with my enemy.

4.      A desire to stay away from those who hate me.

 

8.      T – F    The church does a good job of loving one another as God loved us.

 

A.    True.  I have seen many members of the Lord’s church do a wonderful job in loving others.

 

B.      False.  I have seen times when members seemed not to know what love really is. 

1.      One sermon gets them angry.

2.      One slight sets them off and they quit.

3.      Fights and hard feelings last for years and years and years.

4.      They will not shake hands.  They will not speak.   They will not sit on the same pew together. 

 

9.      Which one of the four dimensions of God’s love really intrigues you?

 

A.    I am impressed with the length of God’s love.  He went to great lengths to save sinful man in giving His only begotten Son to die for us. 

 

B.      Who would willingly give their child to die for sinners?  for enemies? 

 

10.  Are you glad God demonstrated His love through Jesus?  If so, why?

 

A.    Yes.

 

B.      I have hope beyond this world.  This world offers nothing that is truly fulfilling.  It offers nothing that is lasting.  The world to come does.  We will be overflowing throughout eternity.

 

11.  Have you ever misunderstood God’s love?

 

A.    Fortunately, I have understood God’s love.

 

B.      However, from a human perspective, I know how some people can misunderstand.

1.      God’s love desiring for people to be happy on earth (Ex., divorced by cannot remarry).

2.      Confusion about God’s love and suffering.

 

12.  Which one of the misunderstandings of God’s love do you believe is the most common today?

 

A.    God’s love understands and accepts everyone regardless of an individual’s relationship to the gospel of Christ. 

 

13.  Does your obedience to God truly display love for God?

 

A.    I do try to obey God and show my love for Him.

 

B.      However, there are occasions when I fail.  Sometimes I willfully disobey God.  I know these times hurt Him greatly  (See Heb. 10:29).

 

14.  Do you see love as something that is weak or something that is strong?

 

A.    When love is practiced according to its agape standard, it is very, very strong.

1.      It seeks another’s best interest first.

2.      It is sacrificial.

3.      It suffers long with others.

4.      It will discipline when it must.

5.      It loves one’s enemies.

6.      It is kind, even when others are ugly and abrasive.

7.      It practices self-control.

 

NOTE:  All of these things involve one being extremely strong.  Sometimes, the loving individual has to do many of these things at the same time.