Love - God's vs. the World's
We have to understand love as it is defined by the Bible. The world’s kind of
love is self seeking. The world falls in love by the appearance, and when
people’s appearance change, they fall out of love with them and fall into love
with someone else. That’s why the divorce rate is so high.
I Corinthians 13 defines love – verses 4-8 says “charity (love) suffers long, and
is kind, charity envies not; charity vaunts not itself, is not puffed up. Does not
behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no
evil. Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. Bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity 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”. You see the Bible tells us
that faith works by love. People get confused and say that there is no longer
prophets, and that tongues is not for today, but the scripture is telling us that
without love they don’t work (verses 1-3) “though I speak with the tongues of
men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not
charity, it profits me nothing”. This chapter end by saying “and now abides
faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity”.
God is love, and we being made in His image and likeness are commanded to
love. Jesus was asked which is the great commandment in the law? (Matthew
22:37-40) “Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like to it. You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. On these two commandments hand all the law and the prophets”.
Jesus shows us the Father’s love (John 3:16-18) “for God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He that
believes in Him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the mane of the only begotten Son of
God”. You see God loves the whole world and has provided for mankind to be
saved through Jesus, but many reject that Jesus is the way and perish; not
because of their sins, because Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but
because they have rejected the only One who could save them. God is not
made with mankind any more, Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, paid for the
sins of mankind (I John 2:2) “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world”.
Jesus explains this to Nicodemus (John 3:5-6) “Jesus answered, verily, verily, I
say to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit”. In John 1:12-13 the Bible says “but as many as
received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on His name. Which were born, not of blood nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man,, but of God”.
Don’t be intimidated, Paul picked up on a good point (Romans 5:5) “and hope
makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Spirit which is given to us”. In and of ourselves, we are not able to love
the unconditional love, but thanks be to God who did not leave us that way. He
tells Ezekiel in chapter 11:19-20 “and I will give them one heart, and I will put a
new spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will
give them a heart of flesh. That they may walk in My statues and keep My
ordinances, and do them and they shall be My people, and I will be their God”.
In Galatians 5:22-23 the Bible says “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Meekness, temperance against
such there is no law”. This is the fruit of the Spirit, and it comes to us by the
Spirit. In verses 16-18 the Bible says “this I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the
spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to the one to the other so that
you cannot do the things that you would. But if you be led of the Spirit, you are
not under the law”.
Our greatest spiritual warfare is love. Jesus tells us to love our enemies
(Matthew 5:44-45) “but I say to you, love our 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 you may be the children of your Father which is
in heaven for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends
rain on the just and on the unjust”. This is also stated in Luke 6:27, 35. love is
not a feeling, it is a commitment.
God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). Fear is the absence of love. We have to know that
God loves us. In I John 4:10-12 the Bible tells us “herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man
has seen God at any time, if we love one another, God dwells in us, and His
love is perfected in us”; verses 16-21 says “and we have known and believed
the love that God has to us. God is love, ad he that dwells in love dwells in
God, and God in him. Herein is our love, made perfect that we may have
boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
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. We love Him, because He
first loved us. If any man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar, for
he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he
has not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loves
God, love his brother also”.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: June 4, 2008
We have to understand love as it is defined by the Bible. The world’s kind of
love is self seeking. The world falls in love by the appearance, and when
people’s appearance change, they fall out of love with them and fall into love
with someone else. That’s why the divorce rate is so high.
I Corinthians 13 defines love – verses 4-8 says “charity (love) suffers long, and
is kind, charity envies not; charity vaunts not itself, is not puffed up. Does not
behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no
evil. Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. Bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity 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”. You see the Bible tells us
that faith works by love. People get confused and say that there is no longer
prophets, and that tongues is not for today, but the scripture is telling us that
without love they don’t work (verses 1-3) “though I speak with the tongues of
men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not
charity, it profits me nothing”. This chapter end by saying “and now abides
faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity”.
God is love, and we being made in His image and likeness are commanded to
love. Jesus was asked which is the great commandment in the law? (Matthew
22:37-40) “Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like to it. You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. On these two commandments hand all the law and the prophets”.
Jesus shows us the Father’s love (John 3:16-18) “for God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He that
believes in Him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the mane of the only begotten Son of
God”. You see God loves the whole world and has provided for mankind to be
saved through Jesus, but many reject that Jesus is the way and perish; not
because of their sins, because Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but
because they have rejected the only One who could save them. God is not
made with mankind any more, Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, paid for the
sins of mankind (I John 2:2) “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world”.
Jesus explains this to Nicodemus (John 3:5-6) “Jesus answered, verily, verily, I
say to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit”. In John 1:12-13 the Bible says “but as many as
received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on His name. Which were born, not of blood nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man,, but of God”.
Don’t be intimidated, Paul picked up on a good point (Romans 5:5) “and hope
makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Spirit which is given to us”. In and of ourselves, we are not able to love
the unconditional love, but thanks be to God who did not leave us that way. He
tells Ezekiel in chapter 11:19-20 “and I will give them one heart, and I will put a
new spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will
give them a heart of flesh. That they may walk in My statues and keep My
ordinances, and do them and they shall be My people, and I will be their God”.
In Galatians 5:22-23 the Bible says “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Meekness, temperance against
such there is no law”. This is the fruit of the Spirit, and it comes to us by the
Spirit. In verses 16-18 the Bible says “this I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the
spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to the one to the other so that
you cannot do the things that you would. But if you be led of the Spirit, you are
not under the law”.
Our greatest spiritual warfare is love. Jesus tells us to love our enemies
(Matthew 5:44-45) “but I say to you, love our 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 you may be the children of your Father which is
in heaven for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends
rain on the just and on the unjust”. This is also stated in Luke 6:27, 35. love is
not a feeling, it is a commitment.
God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). Fear is the absence of love. We have to know that
God loves us. In I John 4:10-12 the Bible tells us “herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man
has seen God at any time, if we love one another, God dwells in us, and His
love is perfected in us”; verses 16-21 says “and we have known and believed
the love that God has to us. God is love, ad he that dwells in love dwells in
God, and God in him. Herein is our love, made perfect that we may have
boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
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. We love Him, because He
first loved us. If any man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar, for
he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he
has not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loves
God, love his brother also”.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: June 4, 2008
