God loves us
Why does God love us?
Because God created us in His image and likeness to be one of His own.
Though we were created a little lower than the angels, we are special in God's eyes. We are so special in God's eyes that He abounds in nothing but love and grace for grace towards us. It is God's nature to love, He is righteous and He is our Heavenly Father and He wants us to be His family and He wants us to grow and flourish and have a relationship with Him.
There are many dimensions to God's love,
God's love is :-
1) A Holy Love
The Apostle John.
The apostle John taught us the basis of love.
In this love, God loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
In Matthew 22: v 37
So we are called to love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and love our neighbour as ourselves. The most important commandment Jesus gave us.
1 John 4: 10-11
It's not that we loved God. It's that He first loved us, while we were yet sinners,
and sent His Son to die on the cross for us.
Jesus fully identified with us at the cross by bearing our sins without ever committing a sin Himself. He became our substitute, and died in our place.
God loved us so much he sacrificed his one and only begotten Son to bring
us back to communion and relationship with him.
John 14: 15 Jesus said, " If you love me, keep My commandments,
John 14: 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves
Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and
manifest Myself to him.
2) A Sacrificial Love
1 John 3: 16
"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.
And we also should lay down our lives for our brethren."
Christ said, " There is no greater love than this.
So we make sacrificial love in lesser areas, and build up sacrificial love in
greater areas.
John 10: 14-15
Jesus said, " I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep
know me.
Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for
the sheep."
Romans 5: 8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners;
Christ died for us.
3) An Eternal and Unbreakable Love.
Ephesians 1: 4-5
For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in His sight.
In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ,
in accordance with His pleasure and will.
Jeremiah 31: 3.
The Lord appeared to us in the past saying.
" I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."
Romans 8: 35,39
35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or danger or
sword?
39) Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
4) A Generous Love.
Ephesians 2: 4-5
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
He loved us. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, ( by grace we are saved).
Romans 5:5.
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.
5) An Unconditional Love.
Romans 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
Romans 8: 28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose.
6) An Intimate Love
Psalm 25: 14
The Secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew
them his covenant.
Zephaniah 3: 17
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty;
He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;
He will rest in his love, he will rejoice over thee with singing.
7) A Declared Love.
Isaiah 43: 4,5.
"Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have
loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
Fear not: For I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather them
from the west."
Mark 1: 11
And there came a voice from heaven, saying, "Thou art my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased."
8) A Personal Love
Luke 15: 10
"Likewise, I say unto you, there is Joy in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner that repenteth."
1 Thessalonians 2: 7,8.
"But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth
her children.
So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted
unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because
you were dear to us."
9) A Heartfelt Love
Isaiah 62: 5
For as a young man married a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee:
and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy
God rejoice over thee.
Matthew 22: 37
Jesus said unto him, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."
10) A Reliable Love
Jeremiah 33: 11
"The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom,
and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say,
Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good;
for his mercy endureth for ever."
1 Corinthians 13:8
Love never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail;
whether there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
11) A powerful Love
Zechariah 10:6
And I will strengthen the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to
place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though
I had not cast them off: For I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.
Ephesians 3: 16,17,18,19
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,
to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye,
being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all the 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.
12) A Sovereign Love
Matthew 12: 18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom
my soul is well pleased:
I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew Judgment to
the Gentiles.
Ephesians 1: 4-5-6.
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us
accepted by the beloved.
The Father's Love for us
John 3: 16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
God demonstrates His love for us.
Romans 5:8
But God commendeth his love towards us in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
1 John 4:9-10
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might love 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.
The Father's Love for Jesus.
John 3:35
The Father loved the Son, and had given all things into his hand.
Matthew 3: 17
When Jesus was baptized in water and with the Holy Spirit.
A voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
The transfiguration.
Matthew 17:5.
On the mountain appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus.
Then a bright cloud overshadowed them: and a voice out of the cloud,
which said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.
The Love of Jesus for us.
John 15: 13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus Christ proved his love for us by laying down His life for us on the cross.
Such redeeming love, unfailing love, steadfast love, faithful love and
everlasting love, He demonstrated for us on Calvary!
He obeyed his Father's command to lay down His life on the cross for us.
1 John 3: 16
Hereby perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us:
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
There is no greater love than the love of Jesus, for nobody loves you like Jesus.
Our Love for God
John 15: 9
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:
Continue in my love.
God first showed this love to us through His sacrifice of Jesus on the cross
for us.
Our love for God is our response to him.
The Father's love flowed through Jesus as he responded to that love
by loving us with the same love the Father had for him.
So we remain in Jesus' love, by obeying His commands.
As Jesus remained in his Father's love by obeying his Father's
commands and remained in His love.
So we do the same and remain in Jesus' love.
John 14: 21.
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me: and he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him,
and manifest myself to him.
Our Love for One Another.
John 15: 12
Jesus said, " This is my commandment, That you love one another,
as I have loved you."
1 John 3: 16
" This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
We respond to the love of Jesus by loving each other.
We love others by being kind, compassionate, and forgiving towards them.
We also love our enemies, as our Lord commanded us to do in
Matthew 5: 44
Jesus said, " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father in heaven.
Perfect Love casts out fear.
1 John 4: 18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear:
because fear has torment.
He that fears is not made perfect in love.
The word perfect means complete, or mature, and the love that is
referred to is God's selfless (agape love) .
The fear that perfect love drives out is the fear of punishment.
We have God's promise that believers in Jesus Christ will not be judged
with the world: God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Once we have learned to put our trust in God, we will no longer be
afraid of the things that come against us.
We will be like the Psalmist who said with confidence, in Psalm 5:11
"Let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name
may rejoice in you."
Conclusion.
John 1: 12
To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name.
He gave the right to become children of God.
John 3:1
" See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!
and that is what we are!"
Thank and praise our Lord.
John 15: 5
Jesus said, " I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me,
and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
For without me ye can do nothing.
John 15: 9
As the Father hath loved me, so I have loved you:
Continue ye in my love.
