Episode 2725 - Lesson 2 - Tuesday April 07 - God is Love

God Is LoveLove is perhaps the most common word used by Christians to describe God’s character. This could be because of the identity statement about God in 1 John 4:8, which says, “God is love.” John didn’t say, “God is loving,” but rather, “God is love.” Love is His character, the very essence of who He is.For many people, their picture of God emerges from their human definition of love, which is always distorted and imperfect. Instead, our very definition of love should be shaped by who God is and what He reveals about Himself in His inspired Word.What does 1 John 4:7-19 explain to us about love?God’s love is perfect, free, and deeply relational, as revealed in the repeated invitation to “abide” in Him in 1 John, because “we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16, NKJV). God is love, and He created us in His image (Gen. 1:27) to love and to desire love. In Hebrew, one major word for love is hesed. This describes God’s covenant love for humankind, which encompasses traits of loyalty, protectiveness, steadfastness, and tenderness.The ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek use many different names to refer to God, names that capture meaning to shed light on different aspects of God’s beautiful character. Here are just two examples:Adonai: The Lord of all, who reigns forever, in reference to the covenant (Gen. 15:2, Judg. 6:15, Mal. 1:6, Ps. 97:5).Yahweh-Yireh: The-LORD-Will-Provide (Gen. 22:13-14, NKJV).Ultimately, the greatest expression of God’s love is revealed through the gift of His Son to this earth (John 3:16) who died for sinners (Rom. 5:8). God could have withheld this from humankind, yet because of His magnanimous, radical, supremely altruistic love, God sent Jesus to earth so that we might freely choose to respond to His love, revealed in His substitutionary death on our behalf. Not only did Jesus bridge the separation that sin has brought between us and God (Isa. 59:1-2), He lived to show us God’s perfect character of love (John 14:9, Heb. 1:3) and to draw all people to Himself (John 12:32).Many of God’s names capture His holiness and love at their core. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NKJV), and in every case, replace the word “love” with “God.” How does this expand your understanding of God’s character? If you were to place your name where it says “love,” how well would that fit you?