First John chapter three. We'll
really look at the first verse this morning, and in particular,
really just kind of one part of this verse. And I pray that
during our brief time here, during the Sunday school, the Lord will
give us an understanding of his word. But first John chapter
three, He writes, behold, what manner of love the Father has
bestowed upon us. And more than anything this morning,
I want to speak on the very first part of that verse, behold, what
manner of love. Let's pray the Lord will bless
his word today. Our dear Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you. Thank
you for this beautiful day that you've given us this morning.
Thank you, O Lord, for causing us to be here, for bringing us
here. And I pray, O Lord, that this morning, as we open up your
word, that you will be pleased, O Lord, to cause it to go forth
with power to the blessing of your people. And may Christ be
magnified this morning. It's in his name that we pray,
amen. This morning, I'm about to preach
a message concerning a subject that I cannot comprehend, sorry. It is a subject that is beyond
the ability of this feeble, frail, and ignorant mind to comprehend. There is nothing that I can do
today to fully explain it, nothing I can do in my delivery to convey
its meaning to you. I want to simply show you what
God has declared in his word concerning his love. And I pray
that the Lord would be pleased to reveal his word unto us, his
truth. The only way that we are ever
going to know the love of God, the only way we're ever going
to know anything of God is by divine revelation. And this is
the means by which he does it. The preaching of his gospel and
just looking at his word. How often does Chris say scripture
sheds light upon scripture? I want to make a few statements
first in regards to love. With man, love is fickle. It's
fickle. It means it's constantly changing
based upon circumstances, based upon situations, based upon conditions. And we know that to be true.
When we look at our love, we know that to be true. It's fickle.
Our love is sentimental. Our love is based upon emotion.
It's conditional. The truth of the matter is we
usually only love those that love us. Those that meet the
requirements that we have of them to receive our love. Our love is temporary. Our love
is constantly changing. It's strong at times and weak
at others. It's a burning fire or a dying
amber. The love is not an emotion of
God's heart. It's an attribute of his nature.
It's a part of his character. God's love is not motivated by
something outside of himself. The word of God declares that
God is love, that love is of God and it is the fruit of his
spirit. And also I'll make this last
statement in regards to God's love. God's love is only in Christ. It's only in Christ. There is
no love of God outside of Christ. Outside of Christ, there's wrath,
there's judgment. In Christ, there's love. Now
I want us to consider some truths concerning God's love just briefly
this morning. First of all is that God's love
is sovereign. Now the word sovereign is not found anywhere in the
word of God. However, the sovereignty of God's love is clearly declared,
defined, and revealed. Look at Romans chapter nine for
a moment. We'll start actually at verse
11. This is concerning the promise of God to Abraham and to his
seed. It was concerning that covenant
of mercy, which God made with him. In verse 11, we read, for
the children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth." This is God's
choosing of a people. He said to Abraham, he said,
I'm choosing a people and they will be my people and I will
be their God. Well, how does he choose that
people? It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger.
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. So it's clearly defined in here.
Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. He saith unto Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I'll have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. It is the I wills here. This
is God's sovereign will, according to his purpose. He loved Jacob. He hated Esau. He had mercy on
Jacob. He didn't have mercy on Esau.
He had compassion on Jacob. He didn't have compassion on
Esau. God is sovereign in everything that he does. And in his love,
in the dispensation of his love, he is sovereign in that. He loves
whom he will. He said to Moses, I'm sorry,
verse 16, so then it's not of him that willeth, not of him
that runneth, but it's of God that showeth mercy. There's nothing
they did to deserve it. They had neither done evil nor
wrong. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might show my power in thee, that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Pharaoh's existence in this world
was simply that God would raise him up, cast him down, and destroy
him before his people, because he's sovereign. Therefore he
hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he will harden, and
whom he will, he hardeneth. Thou will say unto me, why did
he yet find fault? For who has resisted his will?
Man always has an objection to the sovereignty of God, always,
until God humbles him and breaks him and causes him to bow. Nay,
O man, who art thou that replies against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? I thought about that woman with
the issue of blood. And Lord said, it's not me to give that
which is good to the dogs. And he basically told her, you're
a dog. And she said, truth. That's absolutely
true. Hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor, to love one vessel and to hate the other? What if God willing to show his
wrath and to make his power known endured with much long suffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, that he might make
known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which
he had aforeprepared unto glory. Every recipient of God's love
is chosen by him in Christ according to his sovereign purpose and
according to his sovereign will. God's love is eternal. It is
without beginning and is without end. Again, love is an attribute
of his nature. It's part of his character. Everything
God is, he always has been, and always will be. God is love,
and his love has no beginning, his love has no end. And I find
comfort in that. I find comfort in that. The Lord
told Jeremiah, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. God's love is immutable. It doesn't
change. God's love is perfect. He does
not love today and hate tomorrow, nor did he hate yesterday and
love today. He said, I am the Lord, I change
not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. We read of Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, today, and forevermore. God is love, and that love is
in Christ, and that love never changes. There are no variations
to God's love. Those whom God loves, he always
will love and always has. His love is not hot one day and
then cold the next, like ours so often is. His love never diminishes. His love never comes to an end.
And his love shall never be exhausted. And the love of God is, beyond
our understanding. Paul's desire for the church
at Ephesus is that they would know the love of God. Look at
Ephesians chapter three real quick. And we'll look at this passage. Ephesians chapter three, verse
14. Paul said, for this cause, I
bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would
grant unto 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 the saints.
What is the breadth? What is the length? What is the
depth and the height and to know the love of Christ, which passes
knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. The love of God exceeds our understanding. The love of God is completely
beyond our comprehension. Why did God love a sinner like
me, a vow, corrupt, depraved, God-hating sinner. Why did he
love me? Why did Christ agree to become
my surety and the salvation of those whom the Father gave him?
Out of the same lump, out of that same depraved lump, this
people, there wasn't anything beautiful about them. There wasn't
anything desirable about them. And the Lord Jesus Christ agreed
to become their surety. Why did it behoove Christ to
be made like unto his brethren? Why did he make himself of no
reputation and humble himself and become obedient unto death?
Why did he offer himself a sacrifice for sin, my sin, our sin, the
sin of his people on the cross? Why did he bear my sin in his
own body on the cross and suffer the wrath and judgment of God
in my place is my substitute. Why does he now live to make
intercession for me? Why is he going to come again
and gather all his people together that where he is, they may be
for all eternity beholding his glory and singing his praises.
Well, well, It all begins with love. The work of salvation is a work
of love. And that's important to understand.
You see, love is active. We don't have time this morning,
but if you turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 13, you see that love
is active. Love does. Chris has always said
that so many times. Love does. Love does. Love is not idle or dormant.
And how do we know the love of God? We know it by his actions
towards us, right? We know it by those things that
he has revealed to us, done for us and in us. God so loved the
world that he what? He gave his only begotten son. that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have everlasting life in this was manifested the
love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten
son into the world that we might live through him here in his
love not that we loved God but he loved us and sent his son
to be the propitiation for our sins it's active God commendeth,
God shows, God proves, God establishes, God exhibits his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Hereby perceive we the love of
God because he laid down his life for us. And even in that text, that of
God is actually italicized. It's put there to help define
it. But if you read as simply as
that, hereby perceive we the love. There's only one love. There's only one love. Ephesians
chapter five, husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved
the church. And what did he do? He gave himself
for it. How do we know that Christ loves
the church? Because he gave himself for it. Why? That he might sanctify
and cleanse it with washing of water by the word, that he might
present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Love does. Love is active. and salvation
is a work of love. Look at, look at Ephesians chapter
one. Let's see this, Ephesians chapter
one. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the
faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed, blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Every blessing of God is only
in Christ. The love of God is only in Christ.
Salvation is only in Christ. According, how are we in Christ? According as he has chosen us
in him. He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world. Why? That we should be holy and
without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to
the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His grace, to
the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He has made us
accepted in the beloved. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. Forgiveness, redemption, adoption,
salvation. Why? Because he chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world predestinated us in love. In love. Look at Ephesians chapter
two, right across the next chapter. And you, You who are dead in
trespasses and sins. That's us by nature. By nature
we are dead in trespasses and sins. Wherein in time past you
walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience. There's no difference between
us by nature in this world. We're vile, we're corrupt, we're
dead in trespasses and sins. The only difference is the difference
that God makes. The Lord looked down from heaven
in the days of Noah and saw that every intention of the heart
of man was only evil continually. But Noah found grace. Noah wasn't
any different from them. Noah wasn't any different from
the world. He was dead in trespasses and sins. Every intention of
his heart was evil continually too. The difference was that
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The difference was
that the Lord loved Noah. That was the difference right
there. And the same with us by nature, among whom we also had
our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others. No difference, no difference. But here's the difference. Here's
the difference. I love those scriptures where
you see the but, but. But God, and that's where it
all begins. That's where this begins, in the beginning, God. It all begins with him. And it
ends with him. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead and sins. The love of God had manifested.
Even while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Even when we were
dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ. By grace
are you saved. And hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And in
the ages to come, he might show us the exceeding riches of his
grace. That same word, exceeding, is
the same word that was used where it talks about past misunderstanding.
It's exceeding. and his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. The work of salvation is a work
of love. You think about that baby in
the field over there, Ezekiel chapter 16, born in sin, dying,
polluted in its own blood. And the Lord went to that baby
and said, behold, thy time is the time of love. That's salvation,
the time of love. Those whom God loves, those whom
Christ died to redeem are eternally secure in that love. Look at Romans chapter eight
and we'll end with this. Look at verse 35. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us more
than conquerors. Christ died for us. Christ redeemed
us. We read earlier that earlier
in that passage that we were predestinated to be conformed
to the image of God's son and that he called us, justified
us, glorified us, and all of these things were more than conquerors.
Who's going to condemn one of those that Christ died for? Who
is he that condemned it? Who's going to lay a charge to
any of God's elect as Christ that died? and him were more
than conquerors. And that whole entire work of
salvation was a work of love. And I love how Paul ends this.
Who's going to separate us from the love of Christ? He just declared
everything that Christ did for those whom God the Father gave
him. And he said, who's going to separate us from the love
of Christ? Death, distress, peril, sword,
man, Satan. I am persuaded that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature.
What's the depth of God's love? What's the height of God's love?
What's the width, the breadth? Nor height, nor depth is going
to separate us from the love of God. Nor any other creature shall
be able to separate us from the love of God, and where is that? Which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Behold what manner of love the
Father has bestowed upon us. Let's pray.