The book of Jude, and let me
open my notes here just a second. Once again, I'd like to read
the first four verses of the book of Jude. It says, do the servant of Jesus
Christ and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God
the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. Mercy unto
you and peace and love be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence
to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for
me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. And these three verses, by way
of introduction or greeting to them, are not just so many words
that flow together nicely, but these are to God's beloved, as
he says here, and those things that we have in Christ Jesus,
that we are sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Jesus
Christ and called by this Holy Spirit. And we looked last time
at verse 2, mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied.
And we looked at mercy and peace, two very important and very wonderful
things that we can only have through our Savior, Jesus Christ. We can only have Mercy is shown
to us because of Him. We can only have peace because
of what He has done and what He is to His people. And I'm
going to call today's lesson, These We Have, Part Two. These we have and these things
that we have in verse two speaking to us, mercy and peace and love
be multiplied. And today we're going to look
at the third of those verses and love be multiplied and some
things of what love is and who love is and what it means to
God's people, what it is to God's people. All the other things that we
have as part of our redemption and salvation in Jesus Christ
is the love of God shown, not only shown to us, and a couple
of things we need to see that what love is, and God is, it's
not just a verse that God is a loving God, but we're gonna
see that God is love. That's pure and simple. Those
many attributes that God has, this is one of them. And it's
not fleeting. It's not in passing. It's not brought about by any
outside force or any outside doing or influence. Some of the things that God's
love is, and we're not going to cover point by point, but
we're going to look at several scriptures that cover these points.
God's love is uncaused or unmerited. It's not God loves because of
something that the ones that are loved did or do. It's eternal. we're gonna see that it's sovereign. We know that as other things
that God does, he is a sovereign God and his love is given sovereignly
as he will. It's infinite, it's without limit,
it's not a partial thing. If God's love is shown, it is
shown with all his being. It's not changeable. It's immutable.
It's not changeable in its character and what it is. It's not changeable
from day to day. As we see in Malachi, that verse
that we use, that we love, that says, I change not. Therefore, you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. And there's a lot in that verse. And God's love is immutable. And he changes not. And his love
is not changeable. It's holy. There's based on his
holiness that God is holy and we'll see the verse that said,
God is love. And it's not just he's just a
gushy, no problem, love with whatever comes along, but we'll
see it's a holy love and it's gracious. God is gracious. gracious
God, and we understand in part and we know in part some of these
things, but we'll look at a few verses that
expound on all these different points. To start with, turn to Psalm
146. In Psalm 146, there's a number
of psalms that speak about the psalmist in speaking for his
people, God's people, the love that God's people, he causes
them to have for him and the love that he has, the psalmist
and his people have for the Lord. But in Psalm 146, starting with verse 5, it says,
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose
hope is in the Lord his God, which made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that therein is, which keepeth truth forever,
which executeth judgment for the oppressed, which giveth food
to the hungry, the Lord looseneth the prisoners. The Lord opened
the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises them up that
are bowed down. The Lord loveth the righteous.
And we know and understand that when the scriptures speak about
the righteous, that it's not us. We know that in Christ, we
have that covering of his righteousness. The Lord loveth the righteous.
If we are in Him, we are objects of that love. If we are not covered
by that righteousness, that love is not there. There can only
be that in the Savior, and He is truly the Savior in our lives. all aspects that we can understand
that we can't understand. But that here, the Lord loveth
the righteous. And that always refers to not
that we have done those things that make us that way, but we
stand in him who has made us that way. And because of his
righteousness. And when it speaks of those,
of God that loves those that that are obedient or keep His
commandments or different things, we know that that's not us. That's who we stand in. And we
stand firmly and solidly in Him. Turn to Galatians chapter 5,
if you would, please. And we're going to look at a
few things. And as on the front of the bulletin
says, the best witness of the scriptures is the scriptures.
I think we can safely say we can be on good ground there.
In chapter 5, And we'll see how these verses
fit together and how they comment and they say what on the love
of God. It's at verse six says. For in Jesus Christ, neither
circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith
which worketh by love. And then down. Go down to verse
22. It says here that the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. And they that are Christ have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. In verse 25, if we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. But up here, the fruit
of the Spirit And this is not an outworking of what we have
done, but the spirit. These are things that are that
are shown and given to us and that we in him have a reflection
of some of these things, because we know that if we go down through
these, these are not these are not attributes of us. These are
these are fruit of the spirit. And if those that are looking. to fulfill these points are no
more successful than those that are going to obey the commandments. In the Lord, we can say we do
and have these things. We would desire and we pray that
we have some bits of some of these things, but it said it
is the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit is what causes these
things to come about, to have these things. And then, and bear with me, turn to Jeremiah,
if you would, Jeremiah. And the old prophets, they as we've said many times, it's
the gospel according to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Malachi, any
of the books that we can name. We've seen the gospel in Esther. So in the gospel according to
Jeremiah, it says here, in verse three, and not to leave
out the 30 chapters of context, but it says here, the Lord hath
appeared of old unto me, saying, yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. And we can say as God's people,
if we are in that righteousness of Christ. If we stand in Him,
and because Him we have a standing, because He is our Redeemer, we
can claim this and say this as a fact. If He has loved us, He has loved
us with an everlasting love. And each of us can attest that
He has drawn us with loving-kindness and not harsh things. Harsh things don't lead to the
salvation of his people. Remember that one of the messages
we had recently that spoke about the gentleness of God leads us
to repentance and to salvation, and that is indeed the case. We're going to look at several
places now that are well-known for speaking on this topic, but
we're going to look at in 1 John. Turn with me to the book of 1
John. We're going to look at several
places in 1 John, starting with chapter 3, and not to leave out this because it speaks
to who John is writing about to his people and about the Lord
himself. And what he says in the first
number of verses are very important to God's people. But for this
thought, in chapter 3, It says, first verse of chapter
3, 1 John, it says, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God? Therefore
the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like
him, for we will see him as he is." And a couple thoughts of
here, and it says, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
on us that we should be called the sons of God. And just an
inkling to the the magnitude of the love he has shown upon
his people. And it's, as we saw in some of
those points we mentioned, it's without limit, it's without exception
to his people, those whom he loved. There's no all of God's
being is in that love to his people. And we cannot describe
it and we can't fully fathom that, what we have gained and
what love he has shown to his people. And a second thought,
in the Scriptures, when the word, like verse two, the
first word of verse two here, it says, beloved. Those it's
speaking about, beloved, those are those that are beloved of
God, that are redeemed of God by our Savior, that stand in
Him alone, that's the only way we can claim to be beloved. And
we're beloved of each other in that way. But beloved of God
implies all those things that we've mentioned so far and all
the different things the scripture reveals to us. And it's not based
on love as we see it, as we can describe it, as we can feel it,
we cannot imagine the love that God has, really. We've seen the
outwork and we know what He has done and does for us in providing,
as we see, providing the salvation at all in eternity past, the
eternal covenant that was given. when he, not only his mercy but
his love, when after the fall in the garden, God spoke to them
again, showing that The only way he could do that
was because of who he saw them through. It wasn't their own
standing. God couldn't look on sin, couldn't
stand being in the presence of sin, but only because of that
covering that he provided the picture of and the literal covering
of the Lord himself in his righteousness can anyone be called or claim
or say that they are beloved of God. only in that way, and
there's only one truly beloved of God, and we stand in that
love as we stand in that righteousness of His also. In chapter four,
this is not the only scriptures, obviously, that speak of love
or of those attributes of God that
we enjoy, but these are just some of them. In chapter four
of 1 John, starting with verse seven, and we're gonna read down a ways
here. Verse seven of John chapter four, it says, Beloved, let us
love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth
is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love. 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. Herein is love,
not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son
to be propitiation for our sins." We're not going to stop here,
but just to say, that it says here, in this was the love of
God manifest to us, in this it was shown to us, in this is one,
in a way we can understand somewhat and know somewhat, because it
was made, as it said, manifest unto us the love of God. And
it wasn't manifest to us in riches, wealth, health, or these things.
We may have those or may not, but would manifested in us that
God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might
live through him. And that's God's love manifested
to us. And picking up with verse 11,
beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth
in us, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby we know that we
dwell in Him and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and do testify
that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God
dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Hereby 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 casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect
in love. We love him because he first
loved us. If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this is the commandment that we have from him, that he who
loveth God loveth his brother also. Quite a bit in this passage
through here, but as it says, God's love is manifest or shown
to us by what he did, by providing a redeemer for those that needed
redeemed, for his own, that he had set aside, that he had sanctified. And that's how we know and can
understand some of God's love. And it says in here too, Verse 18, it says, there is no
fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear
hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect
in love. And I think part of what it's
speaking about here, at least, is God's people don't have a
fear of God. in Christ. We have a fear of
God if it's in ourselves, but in that standing that we have
in our Savior, it casts out fear. That casts it out there because
we know that we are standing in Him, and He sees us. He sees us in the Savior, and
that's the only way that fear can be cast out and be done away
with, and that we have no fear in that way that we Would have
if we did not have that standing and There's no terror of God
in His people anymore. We don't have the terror that
natural man has and may or may not admit to but As it says it casteth out fear
his love cast out fear and then in chapter 5 I the first few verses of chapter
five of 1 John. It says, whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Everyone that loveth
him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this
we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and
keep His commandments. For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not
grievous. For whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world. And this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh
the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"
And up here to the thought we're having particularly here, that
it says, whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God, and everyone that loveth Him
that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him." And there
are those that I think claim or think of that they're in the
love of the Father, but if they do not recognize and know who
the Son is, they can't claim that. All things that we have,
all spiritual blessings that we have are in Christ. All spiritual
blessings are in Christ. None of them stand without Him
or outside of Him. We're completely surrounded.
That robe of righteousness picture of being surrounded by a robe
like that is a good picture, and it's called that because
it Closes all. There's nothing left out. Righteousness
covers most of what we need, and we have other blessings.
But all things are because of that. And those that either deny
the Lord in any fashion, whether, as some have said, that indeed,
was he sinless or was there an issue there? Any doubt or anything
that places Christ at lower than who He is does not have a love
of Him. They cannot claim the love of
the Father. They go hand in hand together.
And as it says here, that's where we stand. Turn to the Book of Romans, if
you would, please. And the Book of Romans all the way
through, as do many of the scriptures. If men have questions or wonder
how they stand, where they come from, how they stand, The book
of Romans is very clear on a lot of issues. It's pretty plain. Paul, he covers a lot of ground
in blessed passages for his people to be in, indeed. And in chapter
8, It speaks a lot of being in Christ,
God's people being in Christ in the book of Romans, and keep
the earlier parts of that in mind. And in chapter 8, I'd like
to look at starting with verse 35. Verse
35 of Romans chapter 8, it says, 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. For
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, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And
we're going to look at a little bit more in a bit, but here,
a very key part of the thought through here, nothing can separate
us from that love And we have to keep the last phrase of that
in mind, that this is because of this, which is in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. Anything that we claim of our
redemption and salvation, it better start and end with that
thought, because if we don't, if we start from anywhere else
or end up anywhere else, we're going to have a wrong idea of
what these things have to do with us and how we stand in those
things. It speaks up above many verses
in this chapter about how we are justified and how we are
redeemed. The many different things that
we have in our Redeemer. And they're all in our Redeemer. They're not based on anything
else. They're just not based on any
other thoughts. Turn to the book of John, if
you would, please. And these are not the places
we're looking here. are not the only passages, but
they're ones that are not only familiar, but they're key passages
to what the Scriptures say about God's love. In chapter 3 of John, and I'd
like to Start with verse 14, John 3.14. It says, And as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting, or have eternal life. For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
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. And we know that this
passage has been misapplied and misused and made to stand a couple
of verses just by what the language of it says, the words of it say.
But we have to keep in mind what we saw before in Jude, those
whom were called. those whom were sanctified, those
whom have peace with Him and God's mercy has been on. We have to keep those in mind
and in thought. There's some prerequisites for
what it says here. And those who will believe in
Him, and not perish, but have everlasting life, are those that
were appointed to this, those that were predestined. I know
that word has been kicked around pretty hard a lot, but God has
known a people from before the foundation of the world. And
those are the ones that he, as it said, will draw with cords
of love. I've loved you with an everlasting
love. Those people he has, who those people are, it's pretty
tough to say. We don't know them. We know evidence
of, after the fact, as it says in Ezekiel and other places,
the effects of God putting life in men. Beforehand, we can't
tell if they are going to be or not, but we know that those
that whosoever believeth in him have everlasting life and not
perish are only those that he has appointed to that. And that
takes it and puts it back where it belongs and not in what we
decide to do, but what God decides to do. And in chapter 15 of John. Chapter 15 of John. And like
I said, this is not to ignore or not take into account other
scriptures, but in chapter 15, it's starting with verse nine. Up above here, he speaks that
he is the true vine. This is the Lord's speech. He's
the true vine. And we have to be in that true vine. And it tells what happens above
there. In verse 9 it says, As the Father
hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye
shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments,
and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might
be full. This is my commandment, that
you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
And speaking here that as the father has loved him, it says,
so have I loved you. And those are amounts and degrees
and capacities that we can't comprehend how much the Father
loved the Son. And in Him, we know that we have
that same love toward us. And as it says here, these things have I spoken to
you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might
be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as
I have loved you." And obviously, we cannot love one another as
he has loved us, but only in him can we love each other. in any degree, and we love each
other as the brethren in Him having that common salvation. But this is a pretty tough commandment
to meet on our own, and we cannot do that. And verse 13 especially
where it says, greater love hath no man than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friends. And I don't believe it just means
not just the love that somebody would try to save somebody or
something like that, but the love that he had that laid down
his life for the sheep and for those, not just indiscriminately
or for strangers, but for those that were his and that are his,
that he did that. And again, we can't measure or
appreciate that amount because it is, Eternal, sovereign, infinite,
immutable, holy, gracious, and uncaused. Those are things that
if we have love, it's going to be caused by something, probably.
It's not going to be eternal. It's not going to be sovereign.
I mean, there's a lot of love from us is not love as God loves,
and we can only love Him as he loves us and as that is given
to us. But greater love hath no man,"
of course, referring to himself, what he did, laid down his life
for the sheep, as he said. In many places he speaks to that.
And then in chapter 16, we're going to look at a couple of
different spots here. Chapter 16 of John verses Let's
see. Okay, in verse 27. For the Father
himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed
that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father,
and am come into the world. Again, I leave the world and
go to the Father. And up here it says, For the
Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed
that I came out from God. And those are spiritual eyes
that were given to his and are given to his people. There were
those among him that saw him physically. The two on the road
to Emmaus, they physically knew who he was when he was amongst
them, but they didn't understand. They didn't have eyes to see
what he was and who he was to his people. And then in chapter
17, chapter 17, starting with verse, the Lord's Prayer for
His People, let's start with verse Let's
start with verse 14, speaking of those that the Father has
given to him. I have given them, verse 14,
I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because
they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray
not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but thou
shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth,
thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the
world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for
their sakes, I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified
through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.
that they all may be one as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee,
that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe
that Thou hast sent me. And the glory which Thou gavest
me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one,
in them, and Thou in me, I in them, and Thou in me. that they
may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that thou
hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. I, Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory, which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me
before the foundation of the world." And in here, in the one phrase speaking here,
he's praying and we know this prayer is to the Father for the
sheep and for them. It says that we'll believe, and
that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved
them as thou hast loved me. And again, that speaks to the
limitless, unbounding love that God had to a people. And as Mike Baker has said many
times before, if it was not for God's love and mercy that he
had a people, as Jeremiah said, from everlasting, we'd all be
sinders. Adam, when the lights came on,
they would have been turned to cinder as soon as sin entered
in the world if God had not a people and had a people that he had
placed his love on because of the Savior. And we have to keep
this in mind, and next time we'll move on. to verse three before we get
into the rest of the book. But as we've said in the first
two verses, all that those cover are blessings to God's people,
the beloved, that those are things that we stand in and we stand
because of and only in the Savior, as it says, and we only love
him because he first loved us. And I think God's people know
that, and they know that we didn't love him first. And with that,
we will look forward to next time. Thank you for your attention
and be free.