Recently I was listening to a sermon by Dr. David Jeremiah titled God is Love. I took notes and instead of trying to reword it into an article, I figured I’d just give you all the notes. People love bullets better than paragraphs anyway, right?
God is Love.
- That means he is the source of love, and without him love would not exist.
- God’s love is uncaused. His love has no “ifs,” no conditions or standards we have to meet in order to have his love. He is unlike us, who see things in another person that attracts our love, “I love you because…” God’s love is uncaused, unprompted, uninfluenced, free spontaneous! We can’t do anything to cause him to love us, or prevent him from loving us. He loves us because he is love and chooses to express that love to us.
- God’s love is unreasonable. He has no human reason to love us, to cover our sin, to redeem us. He has every human reason to NOT love us. He loves us because it’s his nature to love.
- God’s love is unending. God is everlasting and eternal. So God’s love for us is forever. He loved us before we existed.
- God’s love is unlimited. Wherever God is, love is. The earth is filled with him. Nothing can contain him; nothing can contain his love. Psalm 139. Our experience says we can push people over the line, “I don’t love you any more,” “That was the last time I’ll let you hurt me!” But God’s love will never be pushed beyond his limits because he has none.
- God’s love never changes. It will remain the same for all time. It doesn’t disappear or diminish. Constant in faithfulness. He rejoices over us as a bridegroom over his bride, and that doesn’t change! He loves us despite everything we ever did or will do, that may cause human love to diminish or disappear. He love never changes because that who he is. Even when we won’t let him love us, he finds a way to love us.
- God’s love is uncomplicated. “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Agape is a word unique to the new testament. It means unconditional love. God loves us whether we respond to it or not; he loves us whether or not we ever acknowledge he loves us. We should love others not because we’re looking forward to that response, but because its the nature of Christianity, that love comes form our heart, and that love comes from God. God fills us with his love, and we can then pour his love out on others.
Who Does God Love?
- His son Jesus Christ. At Jesus baptism, we hear God speak this: “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17
- Israel. “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 31:35-37
- Those who belong to Jesus Christ. He loves us with the same love with which he loves Jesus. “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:26
- The World. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 Every person in this world, His love is the motivation passion behind our salvation.
- God loves YOU! He always has and he always will.