BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER HOW DO WE KNOW GOD LOVES US? We can know that God loves us because He gave us Jesus to forgive the sins of the world. God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God is love, and God loves all people. He calls everyone who trusts in Jesus to love Him and love others. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
God is loving. God is love. What’s the difference between these two statements? If God is simply loving, then He fits a particular definition of love; however, if God is love, then He Himself is the definition. For God to be loving does not necessitate that He is love, but if God is love, then He most certainly is loving. Why does this matter? Well, a simple observation of culture demonstrates that there are multiple definitions of love. Some may suggest that love is a feeling or an action. Some may suggest that love is a noun or a verb. But if God is love, then we ought to look no further than Him and His Word to discover what love truly is. In light of this, where Scripture describes God, we find imagery of what love is. And when Scripture describes love, we discover more of who God is. First Corinthians 13 utilizes a litany of adjectives to describe love, ultimately describing God Himself. In this text, we find how God loves and, in particular, how He loves us. God loves us with patience, kindness, satisfaction, humility, thoughtfulness, sacrifice, truthfulness, and hope. This description ought to stir our hearts toward the worship of the God of love and move us in the direction of this type of love toward others. The ultimate example of God’s love is Jesus, who said, “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another” (John 13:34). First John 4:16 says, “And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.” God is love and God is loving; therefore, to know God is to know love. As we grow in this understanding, we can begin to demonstrate the type of love that we see in Him. And, Lord willing, others will see Him through our reflection of His love. Gospel application:
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER HOW DO WE KNOW GOD LOVES US? We can know that God loves us because He gave us Jesus to forgive the sins of the world. Jesus offers something better than physical water; He gives us Himself. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to everyone who comes to Him by faith. We can worship Him as Lord and Savior wherever we are. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
A clear reality that echoes throughout the New Testament is that God sends those He saves. Jesus commanded His disciples to go and tell others about Him. (Matt. 28:18-20) The story of Jesus and a Samaritan woman in John 4 also provides reminders of this idea. Upon the Samaritan woman’s hearing that God Himself was standing before her, she left her water—the very thing she had come to the well for—and returned quickly to her town to tell of this man. Her response was not to run from Jesus but to expend her energy bringing others to Him: “Come, see.” At the very least, she concluded that He was the Messiah. At the very most, she had surrendered to His authority over her life and was now trusting in His power to forgive. Either way, she was moved to go and tell. Immediately following this, Jesus used the question of His need for food to exhort the disciples to go and tell as well. After telling the disciples that He is fulfilled by doing the work of God, Jesus shared with His friends that they too were created to participate in the work of God— sowing and reaping by bringing men, women, boys, and girls to Jesus. Ultimately, Jesus called these men to follow Him so they would experience joy in His presence forever, glorify Him, and invite others to do the same. He saved them to participate in the mission of God to make known the hope found only in Him. And the same is true of us as well. Those whom God has saved are also sent by Him so that people in their communities and all over the world can receive the invitation to come and see the Savior—Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us to Himself and then He sends us to go. When we take part in the mission of God, we are demonstrating that we love Jesus more than anything. Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus also promised that we don’t take on this mission alone. He will surely be with us—by the gift of the Spirit. The Lord saves us and commands us to share the hope of the gospel. As we participate in His mission, He promises to be with us and produces joy within us as others come to faith in Him. Jesus is worthy. Gospel application:
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER HOW DO WE KNOW GOD LOVES US? We can know that God loves us because He gave us Jesus to forgive the sins of the world. Nicodemus needed new life—eternal life—but he could not do anything to earn it. Eternal life is a gift that comes only from God. God showed His love in this way: He sent His one and only Son to save the world. Everyone who believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
Light and darkness are contrasted throughout the Scriptures. In John 3, Jesus explained to Nicodemus the hope and grace of God and the means by which He saves. Consider what Jesus was saying as He emphasized this contrast in this conversation. In John 3:19-21, Jesus said, “This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.” Jesus said that judgment is coming— and has arrived—because people loved the darkness more than the light. Ultimately, Jesus was referring to Himself, having entered the world to overcome the darkness. But as John 1 says, He was not recognized as the light, even by His own people. Some two thousand years later, the question is, do we too love the darkness, or have we truly received the light? And how can we know? Jesus helps us answer this question. One might summarize Jesus’ response this way: if you love the darkness, your deeds will be evil. If you love the light, your works will be obvious evidence of the power of God. The evidence of whether we love the darkness or the light is found in the way we live. Do you live in a way that expresses your love for light or for darkness? Is there a clear picture of the power of God in your decisions, actions, and words? Do people see the work of God and hear of His power when they interact with you? It’s easy to answer these important questions with aspirations, but we cannot convince God of what is not true. And even further, our aspirations mean nothing without a deep dependence on God’s transformation for our lives. Though we find evidence of what we love in how we live, ultimately God looks at the heart. Our lives will be evidence for loving God above all else. In our faithful pursuit of the light, the evidence will show itself. Gospel application:
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December 2023
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