Beelieve - Know God Intimately: God Is Love

Definition:
"God Is Love." John states that "God is love" (1John 4:8). God does not simply love; he is love. Everything that God does flows from his love. God's Love is unconditional, sacrificial and Biblically refers to a love that God is (1Jn 4:8,16), that God shows (Jn 3:16, 1Jn 4:9) and that God makes possible in His children (Gal 5:22).

Meaning:
God is love and has demonstrated that love in everything that he does. In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul compares faith, hope, and love, and concludes that "the greatest of these is love". Love is the very nature of God, and the greatest of the Christian virtues. Attributes of God's love include patience, kindness, protection, trusting, hoping, and persevering. The following are attributes that God's love is not: envious, boastful, proud, rude, self-seeking, easily angered, a recorder of wrongs or does it take delight in evil.

The Love of God is DESCRIBED AS:

• Sovereign -Dt 7:8; 10:15
• Great -Ep 2:4
• Abiding -Zeph 3:17
• Unfailing -Is 49:15,16
• Unalienable -Ro 8:39
• Constraining Ho 11:4
• Everlasting -Je 31:3
• Irrespective of merit -Dt 7:7; Job 7:17

The Love of God is MANIFESTED TOWARDS:

• Lost sinners -John 3:16; Titus 3:4 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
• His saints -John 16:27; 17:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 1 John 4:16
• The needy Deuteronomy 10:18
• The cheerful giver -2 Corinthians 9:7

The Love of God is EXHIBITED IN:

• The giving of Christ -John 3:16
• The sending of Christ -1John 4:9
• Christ’s dying for us while sinners -Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10 "In this is love,not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. "
• Redemption -Isaiah 43:3,4; 63:9
• Freeness of salvation Titus 3:4-7
• Forgiving sin -Isaiah 38:17
• Quickening of souls -Ephesians 2:4,5
• Drawing us to himself -Hosea 11:4
• Temporal blessings -Deuteronomy 7:13
• Chastisements -Hebrews 12:6
• Defeating evil counsel Deuteronomy 23:5

The Love of God is:

• Shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit -Romans 5:5 "and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

The Love of God is:

• Known and Believed by the Saints -1John 4:16 “ We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

The Love of God:

• Should abide in the Saints -Jude 1:21 "Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life."

The Love of God is PERFECTED IN SAINTS:

• By obedience – 1John 2:5
• By brotherly love -1 John 4:12

The Love Of God is:

• The source of our love to him -1 John 4:19 "We love, because He first loved us."

The Love of God:

• To be sought in prayer -2 Corinthians 13:14

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Application:

Look for evidences of God’s love for you all throughout the day, and remind yourself often that you are the object of His endless love. Tell several others during the day that God loves them. Return tomorrow and share with us, whether on your blog (use my button and link back to my post... let me know you did this), or leave a comment on Wednesday's post, - the evidences of God's love for you; and also share with us how you told others that God loves them and their response.

Wednesday:

Continuation and Application of the Attribute of God: Love

To view previous lessons for Beelieve - Know God Intimately please click here.


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