Episode 2890 - Lesson 13 - Monday Sep. 21 - The Love of God

The Love of God"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen" (2 Cor. 13:14, NKJV). With this verse, Paul ends his second letter. Notice that He mentions the three Persons of the Trinity in this order--Son, Father, and Holy Spirit. It is through the work of all three that we can better understand what God is like and what He has done for us.Read John 3:16-17; Romans 8:37-39; and 1 John 4:8-11. What do these passages tell us about the love of God?1 John 4:8 says that "God is love." Love is an essential attribute of God. John emphasizes that we can know love in that God gave His only Son to die for us (John 3:16). God sent Jesus on a rescue mission (John 3:17), and this was part of the project of salvation (Acts 3:20-21; 1 John 4:10, 14). Jesus referred to the Father several times in the Gospels as One who sent Him (Matt. 10:40, Mark 9:37).In a remarkable statement, Paul says, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8, NIV). We can glimpse God's love in the sweet relationship between husband and wife, as well as parents and their children, in sincere friendships, and so forth. We can also see God's love in nature. In that regard, Ellen G. White says, "'God is love' is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green--all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy."--Steps to Christ, p. 10.However, nothing is more convincing than God's giving Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. When we understand that God loved us to the point of sending Jesus to lay down His life for us, our response is willingness "to lay down our lives for the brothers" (1 John 3:16, ESV).Paul wanted the Corinthians to live in unity. However, without love, there is no unity. That is why he taught them that "love builds up" (1 Cor. 8:1, ESV) and that without love, everything is useless and empty (1 Cor. 13:1-3). So, all we do must be done in love (1 Cor. 16:14), a love that is an extension of God's love.What would we lose in the gospel if Jesus Himself were not fully and eternally God?