1 John 4:7-10

1 John 4:7-10

Thoughts from Josh Talbot

Dive Deeper

Swipe to read today’s written devo!

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“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

1 John 4:7-10

FOF- Behind the Scenes
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God IS love! But what does that mean? How are we to measure something like love? I mean I love donuts, but is that the same as God loves us? I love my kids! Is that the same love as God? With something that is so intangible, how do we measure it? How do we quantify and create a standard for it? What is our frame of reference?

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As we move into week three of our “Foundations of Faith” series, we’re taking a closer look at the person of God the Father in the Trinity. Our verses today say that God is love, so let’s dig into that and see what it really means.

Slide

In the English language, we have one word for love, which can denote many different things: affection toward something, or a friendship love, or a romantic love, or a sentimental feeling, or even a willful, sacrificial love. However, in the Greek language, these are all separate words that really describe the total essence of the word. In our passage today, the love spoken of is agape love – some form of it is used ten times in our selection – and is the last kind of love I described: willful, sacrificial love.

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Agape love is a choice. It is sacrificial, willing to give up all rights for someone else. Just as Christ (the second person of the Trinity) did for us when He died on the cross. Even the phrase “dear friends” (agapetos) is a form of agape love – meaning beloved, esteemed, favorite, worthy of love. Do you see that? We are God’s beloved, His favorite, worthy of His love. And what kind of love is that? The kind that willfully sacrificed His own Son to be the payment for our sin. His perfect, sinless Son, nailed to a cross and separated from His love, so that WE wouldn’t ever be separated from Him and His love.

FOF- Make it Real
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It’s one thing to be loved by God – and it’s hard for me to even grasp the enormity of this. The fact that the Maker of heaven and earth, who existed before time and will endure past time, who is infinitely bigger than I could ever imagine and concerned with the process of the smallest of atoms, could ever sacrificially love me is unfathomable.

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You see, I know the thoughts that run through my head. The mistakes I’ve made in the past. The times I belittled or discounted His own children. The times I was rebellious and turned away from Him – essentially throwing away the gift of His sacrifice. BUT GOD! God so loved me that He sent Jesus for me to pay for my sins – even before I sinned – even before I was born.

Slide

HOW?!? How could that be?!? Because GOD IS LOVE! It’s His very character. He could no less stop being love as I could stop being human. I am by my very nature human. He is by His very nature love. He is willfully choosing to love me – to love YOU. Not because of anything you or I have done or will do but simply because He is love. He gives His love to us freely because we are His beloveds. We are His delight. We are HIS!

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So I ask, can you accept that by faith? Can you intentionally and deliberately choose to believe He loves you even without understanding it? Can you ignore the lies that come from the enemy that you are not enough, and that God could never possibly love you? Because He already does! Nothing you have said or done or might say or do can EVER change that fact because God IS love! My friend – bask in His love. It is just as much yours as it is mine or anyone else’s. He adores you. He delights in you. He died for you!

FOF- End in Prayer
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Father God, I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but Lord please open their hearts to Your truth. Help them to stop striving, performing, and grasping for Your love because they already have it. For those who have simply given up and rebelled – help them to feel You chasing them – even through their rebellion. Lord God that we would all just believe and accept. It’s all that You have asked of us. In the saving name of Jesus ~ AMEN!!

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“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”  

1 John 4:7-10

Behind the Scenes

God IS love! But what does that mean? How are we to measure something like love? I mean I love donuts, but is that the same as God loves us? I love my kids! Is that the same love as God? With something that is so intangible, how do we measure it? How do we quantify and create a standard for it? What is our frame of reference? 

As we move into week three of our “Foundations of Faith” series, we’re taking a closer look at the person of God the Father in the Trinity. Our verses today say that God is love, so let’s dig into that and see what it really means.  

In the English language, we have one word for love, which can denote many different things: affection toward something, or a friendship love, or a romantic love, or a sentimental feeling, or even a willful, sacrificial love. However, in the Greek language, these are all separate words that really describe the total essence of the word. In our passage today, the love spoken of is agape love – some form of it is used ten times in our selection – and is the last kind of love I described: willful, sacrificial love.  

Agape love is a choice. It is sacrificial, willing to give up all rights for someone else. Just as Christ (the second person of the Trinity) did for us when He died on the cross. Even the phrase “dear friends” (agapetos) is a form of agape love – meaning beloved, esteemed, favorite, worthy of love. Do you see that? We are God’s beloved, His favorite, worthy of His love. And what kind of love is that? The kind that willfully sacrificed His own Son to be the payment for our sin. His perfect, sinless Son, nailed to a cross and separated from His love, so that WE wouldn’t ever be separated from Him and His love.   

Make It Real

It’s one thing to be loved by God – and it’s hard for me to even grasp the enormity of this. The fact that the Maker of heaven and earth, who existed before time and will endure past time, who is infinitely bigger than I could ever imagine and concerned with the process of the smallest of atoms, could ever sacrificially love me is unfathomable.  

You see, I know the thoughts that run through my head. The mistakes I’ve made in the past. The times I belittled or discounted His own children. The times I was rebellious and turned away from Him – essentially throwing away the gift of His sacrifice. BUT GOD! God so loved me that He sent Jesus for me to pay for my sins – even before I sinned – even before I was born.  

HOW?!? How could that be?!? Because GOD IS LOVE! It’s His very character. He could no less stop being love as I could stop being human. I am by my very nature human. He is by His very nature love. He is willfully choosing to love me – to love YOU. Not because of anything you or I have done or will do but simply because He is love. He gives His love to us freely because we are His beloveds. We are His delight. We are HIS! 

So I ask, can you accept that by faith? Can you intentionally and deliberately choose to believe He loves you even without understanding it? Can you ignore the lies that come from the enemy that you are not enough, and that God could never possibly love you? Because He already does! Nothing you have said or done or might say or do can EVER change that fact because God IS love! My friend – bask in His love. It is just as much yours as it is mine or anyone else’s.  He adores you. He delights in you. He died for you! 

Colleen McGeorge

Colleen McGeorge

ACF First Impressions and Groups Coordinator

End in Prayer

Father God, I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but Lord please open their hearts to Your truth. Help them to stop striving, performing, and grasping for Your love because they already have it. For those who have simply given up and rebelled – help them to feel You chasing them – even through their rebellion. Lord God that we would all just believe and accept. It’s all that You have asked of us. In the saving name of Jesus ~ AMEN!! 

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