GOD is LOVE
(Pastor Terry Reese; Valley
GBC; 2/21/21)
I. “Jesus loves me!”
The simplest—but most sublime of truths…
o A child can know it—but even the most learned of theologians can never fully get to the bottom of it!
“Jesus loves me!”
The very center of the Christian affirmation of
Faith…
o Christianity is a matter of relationship—we actually can have a personal relationship with a Personal God!
o The Faith is more than a code of ethics or abstract philosophy.
II. The Personal God who is the Lover
of our soul...
A. What if…God was very great
(omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, etc.)—but unloving or incapable of establishing a personal
love-relationship with His creatures? (e.g., Islam’s god)
B. What if…God were simply some impersonal
force? (e.g., the world-soul of Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism,
etc.)
C. The God of the Bible is
a PERSON—and One genuinely capable of both giving & receiving love.
Thus, we see Him identified frequently as “The God of Abraham” (i.e., a God who truly loved a particular
person—Abraham!)
Ex. 3:6: He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
III.
Objects of God’s Love & special concern.
A. The Only-begotten Son.
B. The Chosen Nation of Israel.
C. A world of Lost Sinners.
D. The Church, His Elect People.
IV. God
IS Love (1 John 4:8, 16).
A. A stronger assertion than “God is loving,” or “God loves.” In our zeal to affirm Divine Holiness, we cannot forget His love.
B. “God is Love,” not “Love is God.”
1. God cannot be reduced to the level of only one
attribute.
2. The misreading “Love is God” makes God subject to man’s flawed idea of Love—which God is then is expected to conform to.
C. Love Personified. Love is fundamental to the Divine Essence. God’s Nature is the final concrete reality from which Love originates, and He is thus the Source & Definer of true love, giving it real meaning. As we grow in knowledge of God, we grow in the knowledge of love.
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