The Love of God
A
lesson by Becky
1. This is a lesson that talks about God’s love for us, and how we show our love for God.
2. This is an important subject because...
a. We cannot love properly unless we learn about love from God (1 Thessalonians 4:9).
b. If we do not love then we are not born of God (1 John 4:7).
I. Learning About Love From God
A. This is the way we normally love…
1. We only love those who love us (Luke 6:32).
2. We love our neighbors but we hate our enemies (Matthew 5:43).
3. Not many people would die for a friend out of love (John 15:13; Romans 5:7).
B. But God shows us what proper love is all about…
"…for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;" (1 Thessalonians 4:9 NASBR)
1. God loved us when we did not love Him (Colossians 1:21).
2. God loved us even though we were His enemies (Romans 5:10).
3. God laid down His life for us:
a. God’s love made Him give His Son for us.
"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." (John 3:16 NASBR)
b. So God did not just say he loved us, he showed it:
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NASBR)
II. Showing Our Love For God
A. This is what we are told about loving God:
1. We must love God with all our heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5).
2. We must take diligent heed (to watch very carefully) that we love God (Joshua 22:5; 23:11).
3. We must keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21).
B. It is no good to say we love God, we must show we love Him.
1. We show our love for God in three ways:
a. By doing what God says (1 John 5:3; John 14:15).
b. By being ready to give our lives for God (2 Corinthians 4:11; Philippians 1:20; Revelation 2:10).
c. By loving everybody – our brethren (1 John 4:20-21; John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:16) and our enemies (Luke 6:27).
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1 John 4:11 NASBR)
2. So if we do all this then this is how we show our love for God and keep ourselves in His love.
3. If we do not keep God’s commandments or love our brethren then it shows that we do not really love God at all.
"The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (1 John 4:8 NASBR)
"He who does not love Me does not keep My words..." (John 14:24 NASBR)
"If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also." (1 John 4:20-21 NASBR)
Summary
1. We learn to love properly by looking to see how God loves us. God has shown us how much He loves us by giving His Son for us.
2. We must be careful to love God with all our heart, and love our brethren.
a. We show our love for God by keeping His commandments.
b. We show our love for everyone by doing good for them (even when they might not deserve it).
"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3 NASBR)
"No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." (1 John 4:12 NASBR)
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