Pray with me, please. All gracious and merciful Father, Lord, we pray that you might
be merciful to us today. We know, Lord, that we're sinners. We're saved only by the blood
of Christ, and so we love you, Lord, for sending us a Savior.
I'm grateful we are for your love and for your Savior. Lord,
it's our great desire to be like him. Indwell us, we pray, that
we may love as Christ loved. May we be as Christ in this world,
loving as Christ loved us. We pray, Lord, that as Christ
is, so we would be in this world, living for you, trusting you,
loving you with our whole hearts. In Christ's name, we come to
you, Lord, with this prayer. For there's no other way that
we can come to you. Amen. Open your Bibles please
to the first letter of John that we read as our responsive reading.
Chapter 4, verses 7, well my text is verse 17. As we prepare to come to the
Lord's Supper this morning, I pray that each of you might be able
to see the love of God in Christ. Because if you can see the love
of God clearly in Christ, then His love is going to flow out
of you, out from your heart, and your love will be made as
perfect as Christ's love. Because as Colossians 1 verse
27 says, it is Christ in you, the hope of glory. In 1 John 4, verse 17, the apostle
is talking about Jesus Christ and he makes this astounding
statement. That statement that I've just made. He says that
herein is love made perfect, that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. This is truly an amazing statement,
isn't it? That our love could be made perfect.
In Christ, our love is made perfect. But here's another amazing statement. We're told in Romans 8.29 that
the object of God in predestination and in providence is that all
of God's elect would be conformed to the image of His Son. And so here in 1 John 4, the
apostle is declaring that God's great purpose is accomplished. At least to some degree, it's
accomplished. Because as he is, as Christ is,
so are we in this world. Is it your desire to be like
Christ? I believe that the great desire
of every child of God is that he wants to be conformed to the
image of his blessed Lord and Savior. Is that your heart's desire?
Don't you want to be like Christ? Well, here in 1 John 4, 17, the
Holy Spirit assures us that our heart's desire is in great measure
satisfied because as He is, so are we in this world. In this
letter of love, John is telling us about God's marvelous, infinite,
and eternal love. Love for us in Christ. God's love for us is revealed
in his adopting us as his children, in his eternal election, in his
making us his children, in the experience of grace in the new
birth. And most fully, most completely we see God's love in the sin
atoning sacrifice of his dear son for us as our substitute. In 1 John 3, verses 1-3, the
apostle had said, 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 hath not yet appeared what we shall be, but we know
that when he shall appear, We shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is. And every man that hath this
hope in himself, this hope in him, in Christ, purify himself
even as he is pure. And in verse John 3, 16 he said,
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his
life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. And then in 1 John 4 verses 9
and 10 he said, And this was manifest 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 a propitiation
for our sins. In verses 7 to 16 of 1 John 4, The apostle tells us that if
we are born of God, then we love one another. We don't just tolerate
one another, we love one another. And that's an indisputable fact,
which is plainly revealed throughout the scriptures, as well as it's
affirmed in the experience of God's people. We love one another. God's saints truly love one another. That, too, is amazing, because
we aren't always so lovable, are we? Well, some of you are
lovable, but I'm not always lovable. But look at verse 8. 1 John 4,
verse 8. He says that, He that loveth
not knoweth not God, for God is love. And at verse 12, he
says that if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love
is perfected in us. John is saying that our love
for one another is the reflection and the fruit of God's love for
us, and our love for one another demonstrates the truthfulness
of our professed love for God. In other words, John is declaring
that If I don't love God and His church with the kind of love
that is revealed in Christ and set forth in the scriptures,
then I don't know God. I'm not born of God. And my profession
of faith in Christ and my professed love for God is nothing but a
vain show. However, if my love for God's
elect is sincere and genuine, That my professed faith in Christ
and my professed love for God is also sincere and genuine. Well now, I don't know about
you, but if that's what I have to do, if I have to love God
like Christ loved, then I'm lost. Because I have to confess to
you that I'm guilty. I'm guilty of not loving the
way that I should. I'd like to love like Christ,
wouldn't you? But I find that I can't. Yet
in love, as in all things that we want to do in obedience to
Christ, I know that I'm a sinner, and that it isn't me that loves,
but it's Christ that loves in me. Only in Christ can I love. So it is impossible to have God
dwelling in you, and you not loving God and God's people,
because as He is, so are we in this world. This is the Apostle's
doctrine of love, as he gives it to us here in 1 John 4. When
the love of God is known and experienced in our hearts, then
that love, God's love, Christ's love, will flow out from our
hearts to God and to God's people. But then in verse 17, the Apostle
sort of shifts gears a little bit. And he says in verse 17,
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in the world.
Did you see what I see in that verse? Look at verse 17 carefully. 1 John 4, verse 17. It says herein is our love made
perfect. It doesn't say God's love. It
says our love. But if you have a marginal reference
in your Bible, you know that footnote down below at the bottom
that relates to this verse, you might see that there's an alternate
translation that they suggest. Maybe instead of our love, the
text would be better translated as, herein is love with us made
perfect. Or, to say it a slightly different
way, herein is his love with us made perfect. Or herein is
God's love with us made perfect. I don't know what your Bible
actually says, but there's alternate translations. Turn to Romans
5, verses 1 to 5. And this translation, as the
footnote seems to indicate, is in agreement with Romans 5 and
with what we know about our ability to do anything perfectly and
without sin. Look at Romans 5, verses 1-5.
It says, Therefore being justified by faith, being made perfect
in Christ, in other words, being justified by faith, we have peace
with God. How do we have that peace with
God? Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by
faith into His grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory
in tribulations also, knowing the tribulation work of patience,
and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope make
us not ashamed, because the love of God is set abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. God's love towards us,
which is shed abroad in our hearts by the knowledge of Christ, as
given to us by the Holy Spirit, is made perfect in us. It's made
perfect in us when we are made to see the fullness, completion,
and the perfection of our salvation, which is only in Christ. So 1
John 4.17 is saying, herein is God's love, not our love, but
God's love. made perfect in us, that we may
have boldness in the day of judgment. How wonderful God's love gift
is. How wonderful is the gift of
the faith of Jesus Christ. How wonderful that we can trust
Him and not ourselves. I do love God. You do love God,
I believe. But I've never been able to love
God as I want to. And I'm much less able to love
my neighbors as myself. But in Christ, in Christ I can
do all things. And His love in me is a perfect
love. That we may have boldness in
the day of judgment. That we may have boldness in
the day of judgment, and that's important. There is a day, a
day which is appointed by God, when God will judge the world
in righteousness and in strict justice. In that day, that day
of judgment, although the wicked and the unbelieving tremble in
fear it's coming, the saints of God will have confidence and
joy and boldness when that day comes. The wicked and the unbelieving
of the world fear the day of judgment, They fear the Day of
Judgment because they are trusting in their own righteousness. Many
people have nightmares about that Day of Judgment. They have
nightmares about dying. But God's saints love that Day
of Judgment that is coming. They long for it and they anxiously
wait for it, or at least I think they should. But those who are
trusting Christ don't fear God's Day of Judgment. In that great
day, we stand fearless before God, without the least dread,
while the rest of the world cries for the mountains to fall on
them and to hide them from the wrath of God and the Lamb. In
that great day, when God shall judge the world in righteousness,
God's elect will have a boldness. It's a boldness which comes from
faith, the faith of Jesus Christ. In that day we shall speak to
Him who sits on the throne and we will speak freely and we'll
speak boldly. We'll speak without fear giving
all praise and honor and glory to Christ alone as our Savior. Expressing our love and adoration
to God forever because of Christ. Would you like to have this boldness?
Would you like to have that boldness in the day of judgment? What's
the basis for it? Where can you find this boldness?
Well, look back again and read 1 John 4.17. It says, Herein
is God's love with us made perfect, that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment, because, and here's the cause of that
boldness, because as He is, so are we in this world. I repeat
myself, I guess. That's an outstanding statement. As He is, so are we in this world. Are you a believer? Are you a
child of God? Are you redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ? If you are, then this text applies
to you. If at this moment you trust Christ,
Even if just at this moment you have been born again of God,
then this text is talking about you. As Christ is, so are you
in this world. It's our union, it's our identification
with Christ that will give us boldness in the day of judgment.
As He is, so are we in this world. Everything that the Lord Jesus
Christ is in His capacity is our God-man mediator. as our
representative and substitute before God, we are in Him. The Holy Spirit doesn't say,
as He was, so are we. It doesn't say, as He is, so
we shall be. Look at the text closely. It
says, as He is, so are we in this world. If by your new birth
in Christ you have been made by God to be one with Christ,
Then, as He is, so are we, so are you in this world. But the
key thing is, God must make you one with Christ. I pray that
you can hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to believers. The whole
purpose of God's grace towards us is that we should be conformed
to the image of His dear Son. And to that end, we should be
confirmed to the image of His dear Son. God has chosen us in
eternal election, predestinated all things from eternity. God
the Son has redeemed us with His own precious blood, and God
the Holy Spirit has called us, giving us the faith of Christ
and preserving us in His grace, which is in Christ our substitute. Let's read that in the Scriptures. In Ephesians 1, verses 3 and
4 it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ, 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." Then in Romans 8.29 it says, "...for
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son." that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. And in Ephesians 5 verses 25
to 27 it says, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved
the church. Even as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the 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. And in Jude, that little book
of Jude, verses 24 and 25, it says, Now unto him that is able
to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise
God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and forever and ever. Amen. By the God-given faith
of Christ, we know that God will accomplish His purpose ultimately
in resurrection glory. But here, here in this world,
the Apostle John tells us that God's whole purpose concerning
us is, at least in a sense, it is now accomplished in us and
for us by virtue of our saving union with Christ. Because as
He is, so are we in this world. Right now while we're living
in this world, as He is, so are we. We don't live in ourselves,
we live in Christ. If you're a believer, if you're
trusting Christ, you don't live in yourself. You live in Christ. You know, I feel, we talked a
little bit in Sunday school about thinking of high things, but
I feel so inadequate to bring this doctrine of God's love to
you. I can't begin to expound fully on the meaning of God's
word, but I pray that with the help of the Holy Spirit, I pray
that I might be able to convey the glorious message of God's
love to you. If I can do that, that I will
have fulfilled the charge that the Lord God has given me as
his servant, saying, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people." Oh,
the thought that you are one with Christ. Could that be a
comfort to you? That's my prayer. But here it
is in a nutshell. Just as the Lord Jesus, our Savior,
is the begotten Son of God, so are we. Christ is the Son of
God by nature. eternally begotten of the Father,
and in that sense he is the only begotten Son of God. We are the
sons of God by adoption and by God's grace. We are born again
in Christ, and so we are in union with Christ. We are brothers
with Christ. As Romans 8.29 says, the man
Jesus Christ, our mediator, is the firstborn among many brethren,
and we are his brethren. We are made to be the sons of
God and Christ is not ashamed to call us his brethren because
we are truly the sons of God with him. As it says in Hebrews
2.11 Christ our mediator is God's firstborn and yet his church
is also called the church of the firstborn ones in Hebrews
12.23 because we're one with him. And as the firstborn of
every heaven-born soul is given the Portion of the firstborn
which is a double portion We are given what Christ has because
as he is so are we in this world as? 1st John 3 one says behold
what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we
should be called the sons of God God has loved us in Christ
as his sons. He chose us to be his sons in
eternal election and And He has adopted us as His children, as
we read in Ephesians 1.5, having predestinated us under the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good
pleasure of His will. In our new birth, in our union
with Christ, where we became one with Christ, God our Father
gave us the nature of His Son. He gave us a divine nature. He
gave us the nature of His Son. as 2 Peter 1.4 says, whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust. We were born
of God in the new birth, but we were born by the power and
by the grace of God's Spirit, as Galatians 4.6 says. It says,
And because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of
his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father. In Jesus Christ,
we love God as Christ loves his Father. And James 1.18 says,
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should
be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. That word begat
means, by his own he gives birth to us with the word of truth. And 1 Peter 1.23 says that being
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by
the word of God, which liveth and bideth forever. And this
is important. As 1 John 13, excuse me, as the
gospel of John 1.13 says, we were born not of blood, nor of
the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. So we were born again in Christ. We were born one with Christ. John Gill wrote this about a
believer's new birth in Christ. He said, This is a privilege
that exceeds all others. It is better to be a son than
a saint. Angels are saints but not sons.
They are servants. Angels are servants. Adoption
is something even more glorious than redemption, pardon, and
justification. It is an act of great grace to
redeem one from slavery, to pardon a criminal, or to justify the
ungodly. But it is a far greater, higher,
and more glorious act of grace to make the redeemed slave, the
pardoned felon, or the justified sinner, one's own son." I like
that. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. To be born again in Christ is
an indescribable higher honor than to be born as the son and
daughters of the greatest man on earth. This is an honor that
Adam didn't enjoy in the garden. It's an honor which is greater
than the angels in heaven can ever hope to obtain. They are
the sons by creation, but we are the sons of God by adoption
and grace. Just as Christ is the Son of
God, so are we in this world. Oh, what a glorious thing it
is to be loved like a son, a son of God, to be loved like by God. Just as Christ is loved by God
with an everlasting love, so are we. John says in John 17,
verses 23 and 24, that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved
me. Thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Try
to grasp the meaning of these words here in John 17 if you
can. These words which fall from the
lips of our Savior in his prayer in the garden that night before
he was arrested. He prayed to God the Father for
us. He went to the cross for us. Just as Jesus Christ is loved
by God for eternity with an unchangeable love, because of Christ's pledged
obedience to God is our surety, Even so, in the same way, we
are loved by God in Christ, our Savior and our substitute. In
John 10, verses 16 and 18, Jesus said, Other sheep I have, which
are not of this fold. Them also I must bring, and they
shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore, because of this, therefore
doth my Father love me, because I laid down my life, that I might
take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father." And it's that perfect, sacrificial love which
loves us, and which also loves through us, enabling us to love
God and our neighbor as ourselves. Here is the key that we need
to understand. God loves us as He sees us in
Christ. And the way that God sees us
is the way we are in Christ. Even perfect in Christ. God loves
us for Christ's sake. God loves us as He loves the
Lord Jesus Christ, our God-man mediator, to the same degree
and for the same reason. Christ is in us and we're in
Him. Christ is our substitute and God loves us eternally and
perfectly and unchangeably with a love that is altogether free.
And yet, though it is altogether free, it is the love that was
earned. It was earned by our mediator.
He paid the price. It's a love that's totally undeserved
by us and yet it is fully deserved by our Redeemer's obedience unto
death as our substitute. Think about that. If you're in
Christ, then God loves you just like He loves His Son, Jesus
Christ. God loves us without beginning.
God loves us without cause, without end, without change. It's an unchangeable love. Oh
dear child of God, this is a sweet water drawn from a well of salvation. You are loved by God right now.
just as God loves your Savior, because as He is, so are we in
this world. And just as the Lord Jesus Christ
is elected and chosen by God and precious, so are we. So are we if we're in Christ. 1 Peter 2.6 says, Wherefore also
it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, And he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded. In Isaiah 42 verses 1-4 God says,
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him,
and he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. And he shall
not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the
street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking
flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged,
till he hath set judgment on the earth, and the isles shall
wait for his law. And in Isaiah 43 verse 4, God
says to Christ that since thou wast precious in my sight, thou
hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore will I
give men for thee, and people for thy life. God loves us in
Christ. God loves us in our substitute.
Jesus Christ was chosen by God to be our surety, and we were
chosen to be his people. Christ was chosen to be our Savior,
and we were chosen to be saved. Christ was chosen to be our Redeemer,
and we were chosen to be redeemed. Christ was chosen to be the head
of all things, and we were chosen to be his body. Christ was chosen
to be the foundation stone and we were chosen to be the temple
and building of God. Do you see the blessed oneness
of being in Christ? Do you see the marvelous blessing
that there is when you're in Christ? But it is only in Christ. It isn't in us, except that we
are in Christ and Christ is in us as the branch abides in the
vine. And just as the Lord Jesus Christ,
our substitute, is well-pleasing to God, so are we in this world. Turn please to Matthew 17, verses
1-5. When Peter and James and John
were on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord Jesus, Moses and
Elijah appeared before them, talking with their Savior, talking
with Jesus. And Peter was so pleased to be
there that he wanted to build three tabernacles there on that
mountain. One for Moses, one for Elijah,
and one for Jesus Christ. In Matthew 17, verses 1 to 5,
it says, And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John,
his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart,
and was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the
sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And behold, there
appeared unto Moses and Elias, talking with him. Then answered
Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou wilt, let us make here
three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias. And while yet he spoke, while
yet Peter is speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them,
and behold, a voice out of the cloud which said, This is my
beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him." Peter
wasn't distinguishing between Christ and Moses and Elijah.
It looked like Peter was placing the law of God and the prophets
of God on equal ground with the Son of God. But God stepped in
and He said, Never! This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. I pray you can hear
this. Every child of God knows. If
you're a child, you know. If you're a child of God, you
know that you're a sinner. Our only hope is in Christ. Our hope is not in anything that
we can do. It isn't even in our love. We
can only love in Christ. We can only truly love with the
love of Christ, and for that, We must be in Christ and He in
us. God Almighty is pleased with
not one, with no one, and with nothing else, but His dear Son,
Jesus Christ. After God spoke in Matthew 17,
verse 8, it says, When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw
no man. They're on that mountain. God
had just spoken to them. And after He spoke, it says,
They saw no man save Jesus only. That's a blessed blindness, isn't
it? It's a blindness to be able to
see nothing but the Son of God, the S-O-N of God. What a blessed
blindness that is. They could see no man save Jesus
only. I pray that we all can learn
two things from the Mount of Transfiguration. First, God is
pleased only with His Son. He's pleased with our Savior's
person, His obedience, His blood, and His intercession. But we
are pleasing to God only in Christ our substitute. Then the second
thing I'd like for you to take away from the Mount of Transfiguration
is that if you have learned this, that we're only pleasing to God
and His Son, then learn this. God is pleased with us because
we are in His Son. robed with His righteousness,
and washed in His blood. He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved." As it says in Ephesians 1.6. We are accepted in Christ
as one with Christ from eternity. We are accepted in Christ right
now if we are one with Christ. We are accepted at all times,
accepted immutably and accepted forever only in Jesus Christ. The more this theme is pursued
through scriptures, the sweeter this theme gets about the love
of God in Christ. Because we are all accepted in
the Beloved, because as He is, so are we in this world. The
Lord God is well pleased with what we offer Him, only because
we are one with His Son. As 1 Peter 2.5 says, Ye also,
as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood
to offer up spiritual sacrifices and those spiritual sacrifices
are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ and only in Jesus Christ. Can you imagine that? That what
you do is accepted. It's accepted in Christ. Just
as God is pleased with His Son, He is pleased with you and me.
Because as He is, so are we in this world. As God is pleased
with and as God accepts the obedience of His Son, He is pleased with
and He accepts our feeble efforts at obedience. Because as He is,
so are we in this world. The God of glory is even pleased
with our desire to please Him and He is pleased even with our
efforts to please Him, but only is He pleased with us in Christ. Because as He is, so are we in
this world. We are well pleasing to God.
but only in Christ. We come to this Lord's Supper
table today with love in our hearts for God and for our brothers
in Christ only because we come in Christ. We have been made
free from sin only in Christ. As the Lord Jesus Christ is justified
from all sins, so are we if we're in Christ. In Romans 6 verses
6 to 11 it says that knowing this that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from
sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we should also live with him, knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion
over him. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise,
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Oh, what a
great occasion we have for praying when we are in Christ and praising
God. When Christ Jesus was made to
be sin for us, and He was crucified as our sin-bearer, He was buried,
and His body laid in the tomb for three days. in an unjustified
state. And then on the third day, when
Christ rose from the dead, he was justified in the Spirit.
And so we were also justified in Christ, because Christ died,
was buried, and rose again as our substitute. And that's the
work, that's the mercy, and that's the love of God. He was manifested
to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin, as it says in
1 John 3.5. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God,
was slain for our sins as our substitute. Christ, the scapegoat,
carried our sins into the tomb, and Christ, the man, returned
from the grave without sin. And hear this well. With his spotless garments on,
we are as holy, just as holy, as God's Son. Look to the risen
Christ. And understand that the law has
no more dominion over him and as he is, so are we in this world. Sin has no more dominion over
him and as he is, so are we in this world. Death has no more
dominion over him and as he is, so are we in this world. It's
all because we're in Christ, by the love and mercy of God's
grace, that we can come boldly to God in Christ. It's all because
we're in Christ that we can come boldly to this Lord's Supper
table. Oh, I pray that you can come
to this Lord's Supper table in Christ. If you can, then I know
that you will come praising God. You'll come loving God and your
brothers with a perfect love, because you're loved. is a love
that flows out of you from Christ. There may be some people here
today who will not come to this Lord's Supper table because they
don't think they are justified in coming because they're sinners. Well, if that's the way you're
thinking, it's best maybe that you don't come because you are
looking at your own righteousness. But if you can come as a sinner,
looking only to Christ and His righteousness, Then you are most
welcome to come to this Lord's Supper table, and in the love
of God, remember that Christ died for all of your sin. A saved
child of God loves God. He loves God's people, not with
his own love, but with the perfect love of Christ. And if that's
a description of you, then I invite you to come to this Lord's Supper
table. Come in Christ's love to this Lord's Supper table.
praising God for sending us a Savior, that as He is, so are we in this
world.