GOD IS LOVE- Pt.5- LOVE LIFTED ME

By Edward O’Hara…

Before we get to part 5 of these messages teaching the all important message of God’s love let’s take a quick look at what we have learned from John’s teaching about God’s love so far. 

1st we learned that we know we are hearing the Spirit of God when He says that Jesus came in the same flesh all men have. And that this is how God made deliverance from mortality to immortality possible for mankind. And that the spirit of Antichrist teaches that Jesus did not come in the same flesh all men have. And that this spirit of Antichrist doctrine has become prevalent in today’s false teaching of the doctrine of original sin and sin nature. A foundational doctrine that is proclaimed by the adherents to Roman Catholicism and her daughters the evangelical protestants. Their main proponents being Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther, and John Calvin. 

2nd we also learned about free will. And that because God IS love He gave men the most awesome gift of free will so they could choose to love Him in response to His love. Or choose not to love Him in return. No greater expression of free will can be shown than the fact that created man can reject the eternal God’s will for them. And that it is not that we save ourselves by this free will. But, that because free will is always necessary for there to be a real response of love to God’s freely given and unconditional love. It is therefore the most necessary component for salvation. 

3rd we learned that while God sometimes expresses anger, wrath, and vengeance toward idols and those who serve them. It is not who He is, nor are these what the scriptures tell us unifies the Godhead. And is never His preferred method of dealing with people. But, is only used as a last resort. In time, to bring those who are caught up in idolatry to the realization that what they are doing alienates them from the gift of life that God has for them. And in eternity, will be the final judgment for those who have never trusted in Him for the gift of eternal life. Because after much forbearance, goodness, and long suffering, God ultimately honors their free will decision by giving them over to the god they have chosen, for eternity. Making free will both the greatest gift and the most awesome responsibility that God intended it to be. Because real love is a choice. And because it is a choice God who IS love, does not force Himself on anyone. 

4th we learned that the Godhead is one because He is love. And that any preconceived notion that His beingness or essence as taught in trinitarianism is what makes the Godhead one is simply not Biblical. And how ontology may speak of God’s existence. But, is never used to define what makes the Godhead one. So we learned in Pt.4 that trinitarian doctrine attempts to deceive and distract by teaching something the scriptures never do. Because the scripture never refers to essence or beingness in regard to the unity of the Godhead. The scriptures say plainly that the unity of the Godhead is love. 

Now, in this pt.5 of these messages we will begin by looking at the last couple verses of 1John4. Here we see John bringing us to the conclusion to all of this saying that, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” 

Knowing this it’s impossible for anyone to come away with any other understanding of who God is and what it is that makes the Godhead one. And that because this is what makes the Godhead one, those who say they love God must love one another because God’s love makes us one with Him and each other. 

A survey I recently read said that 43% of Millennial (aged 18-36), “don’t know, don’t care, or don’t believe that God exists.” How can this be when Rom.2:4 shows it is God’s goodness, forbearance, and long suffering that leads a man to God? And Rom.1 says men know there is a Creator because of what has been made? Why don’t they care? Why won’t they believe? It is because they have never known what real love is. 

In 1John4 John says that when we know His love we know Him. This is why Jesus said if you have seen me then you have seen the Father. Because if you have seen Jesus you have seen God’s love. And in John 17:21-23 Jesus said that we are joined as one with Him and each other because of this love. So it is because these “millennial’s” miss this that they care less or don’t believe that God exists. They see the creation so they know there must be a Creator. But, they don’t have the slightest inclination or desire to find out who that is. Or why He created. 

It’s their confusion about what real love is, and it’s significance in regard to the Creator, that causes this. At least in part we can thank the greek philosophical view of the Creator known as trinitarianism for this. Because had they focused on love that makes the Godhead one, instead of beingness or essence, the so called church would not have confused so many about who God is. And it’s significance in creating a hunger in us to know His love. The love that caused God to create all things. The love that makes us one with Him and each. The love that is eternal life. 

We also see from this that those who have been deceived to believe the doctrine of original sin taught by Augustine, Calvin, and Luther, doctrine that teaches God’s will is to eternally torture the greater part of mankind, do not know God’s love. Because if they did they would understand Peter’s admonition that it is not God’s will that any should perish. Nor have they understood the words of Jesus in Mt.25:41 where He said the “everlasting fire” was “prepared for the devil and his angels.” Not mankind. 

So when you encounter a person who claims to be a Christian that goes on and on about the anger, vengeance, and wrath of God. Or those who think this is what God does to punish people to get them to repent, and the Christian to be obedient. What they have actually proven is that they have neither met Jesus nor known His love. And that their witness of condemnation is actually a gross misrepresentation of the message of Christ. 

Because the scripture teaches that if a man is condemned it is by his own free will choice that he is. Not God’s. God has done all that is needed for man to be saved. Because of the cross and it’s final once for all sacrifice He does not impute trespasses to them. So that now He continually leads mankind to come to Him by His goodness, forbearance, and long suffering. 

This is why in 2 Peter 3:9 Peter said “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” There are no scriptures that say that God is anger, or that God is wrath, or that God is vengeance. The scripture says God is love. 

Jesus said in John 3 that He did not come to condemn the world. But, that the world might be saved through Him. He goes on to say that for this to happen men must be born of the Spirit. Because what is born of the flesh is flesh. And what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

Paul confirms this in 2 Cor.5:19,20 saying that God was in Christ 2,000 years ago on the cross so that trespasses would no longer be imputed. Jesus’ death and resurrection gave power to this “dispensation of the grace of God”, the time from Jesus’ death and resurrection till the “fullness of the Gentiles has come in”, when trespasses are not imputed to anyone. So that now the way has been made, if you will simply trust in Jesus and His resurrection, for you to have the immortality that all men since Adam was made have so desperately needed. Your trusting in Him is now all that stands between you and eternal life. 

Jesus said “If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me.” You know why? Because it is love for God that compels the believer to share Jesus with anyone who will listen. And it was love that lifted Jesus to the cross. God’s love for all men so that they could receive the gift of eternal life. God’s love for you. Because if Jesus had not joined with all men in death. He could not have conquered death for all men by the resurrection. So just as it was love that lifted Jesus to the cross. So it is that love will lift us up from death to life. The words of this song say it well,

“Love lifted me

Love lifted me

When nothing else would help 

Love lifted me”

Do you want to know God’s love? Will you pray with me now so that you too can have God’s gift of love shed abroad in your heart that is eternal life? Will you receive God’s love that will lift you up from death to life as it lifted Jesus to the cross? Let’s pray. 

Dear Jesus, thank you for joining with me in my death. So that I can join with you in eternal life. Thank you that you rose from the grave to conquer death for me. I receive the life you died to provide me with. Thank you for the love that lifted you on the cross. So that this same love could lift me from death’s power to the power of an endless life. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

If you prayed with me then welcome to God’s family. And now when you read the Bible believe what it plainly says. That God is love and He wants you to know that love. And to live by the faith that only works by His love. 

See you there or in the air!

Edward O’Hara