by Elder Lin Brown
Luke 11:42
But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.Rom 5:3-5
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.Rom 8:35-39
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 accounted 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.2 Th 3:3&5
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.1 John 4:9
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.Jude 20&21 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Our human love for our families grows out of the love of God for His own. Our love is imperfect and is in need of growth, but His is eternal and perfect. We can be assured that if we are among the election of grace then we are loved by the Lord from the very foundation of the world. In fact we were loved ever before we even thought of God, much less loved Him. It is not that we loved God , but that He loved us, that establishes the relationship we have with Him. John says in 1 John 3:1-Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. We exclaim with awesome wonder the statement of the apostle- what manner of love!!! Just think, the Lord loved His people so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for them. What manner of love is this? It is the greatest love, because the Lord Jesus Himself says, greater love hath no man than to lay down His life for another. That is the exact character and ultimate expression of sacrificial love. Over and over the Word of God says that God expressed His love for His people by sending His Son to die for them. In Romans we have that wonderful passage that tells us that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is quoted above and should be read daily to remind us that if we are the elect of God we are the objects of His love and not His wrath. Let us reflect often on the love of God for His own , because the Scriptures say that perfect love casteth out fear (1 John 4:18).
Jer 31:3
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.J
ohn 3:16 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.John 13:1
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.John 15:9&13
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.Rom 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.Rom 8:35-39
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 accounted 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.Rom 9:13
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.Gal 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.Eph 2:4-6
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:2 Th 2:16&17
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.1 John 3:16
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.1 John 4:10&19
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We love him, because he first loved us.Jude
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.Rev 1:5&6
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.In this long list of Scriptures above, the ones that stand out the most are 1 John 4:10 that says not that we loved God but that He loved us and Romans 5:8 that reminds us that God commended His love towards us that while we were yet sinners. Just think the love of God for His children is so great that even while they were yet sinners Christ was sent to die for them and to reconcile them to the Father making propitiation for all of their sins. This was done as an act motivated by love. Sometimes I think we tend to think of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God as some indifferent and detached obscure event that somehow just happened due to the wickedness of man and a list of unfortunate circumstances when Jesus pressed the religious tolerance of the Jews a little to far.
We who are the children of God must remember that this was not some unfortunate twist of fate, but a predetermined plan from the foundation of the world and executed in the time frame of history. As important as this is, it is much important that we remember that this was done because the Lord loved us. Yes, those who are the elect were truly loved before time. Just think He who created everything that is, and governs all of His creation in an orderly manner, before any of the creation came into existence loved His chosen. It is said of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John that having loved His own that were in the world He loved them until the end. The love of God stretches from eternity to eternity for His people. Ephesians tells us that we are to love our wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it and who can forget that great verse in John that says for God so loved - the world- that He gave His only begotten Son. Those of us who are dads can think what it would be like to send our only son to die for Osama Ben Laden(sp) that he might be saved and spend eternity in heaven. You may think this to be an over exaggeration, but if you fully understand the depths of your depravity you will not draw back from this example. May the Lord be pleased to bless us with the understanding that the love of God is commended towards us not when we were the nicest of church goers loving God (for we never loved God, we only loved religion), but while we were yet sinners who had the poison of asp in our tongues and murder of the Living God at our goal, who would at any moment move to dethrone God and banish Him from human memory forever. Even at such a time the love of God thrust itself forward to redeem such criminals against the government of God. Selah and Selah.
