{"id":18339,"date":"2016-08-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-07T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/christian-love\/"},"modified":"2023-08-03T08:48:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T13:48:33","slug":"christian-love","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/christian-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Love"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[91],"series_event":[562],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[450],"class_list":["post-18339","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-1-corinthians","series_event-topical-morris","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-gabe-morris","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Christian Love","sermon_date":"20160807","sermon_month":"08","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":"","sermon_slides":3799,"sermon_mp3":3801,"sermon_id":"87161113264","series_or_event":562,"service_type":[472],"speaker":450,"books_of_the_bible":91,"chapter_and_verse":"13:13","sermon_transcript":"SUGAR LAND BIBLE CHURCH\r\n\r\nGabe Morris\r\n\r\nChristian Love, 1 Corinthians<\/a> 13:13\r\n\r\n8-7-16\r\n\r\nCan we open our Bibles and turn to 1 Corinthians 13:13.\u00a0 As you\u2019re turning there I would like to thank the Lord for this opportunity to teach the Word of God to you again and also thank Andy, our Senior Pastor, on his series on Bible and Voting; isn\u2019t that a great series?\u00a0 \u00a0Amen.\u00a0 I\u2019m blessed, what a great series.\u00a0\u00a0 Can we pray.\u00a0 Heavenly Father, we honor You today; we acknowledge our utter dependence on\u00a0 You and we give You this time and may You open our hearts and minds\u00a0 and understanding to the teaching of Your Word, and cause us to absorb Your truth concerning Christian love.\u00a0 Use me as You see fit and may all the glory and honor and praise go to You.\u00a0 In Jesus name we pray, and God\u2019s people said Amen.\r\n\r\nThe title of this sermon today is Christian Love.\u00a0 And this is the direction we will be headed this morning; if you\u2019d like an outline we will survey a brief history of how the Greek language came to be, and then we\u2019re going to look at defining and discovering the meaning of love and how the Bible teaches this, and then answer a few questions concerning agap\u0113 <\/em>\u00a0love by searching the Scriptures.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware that 1 Corinthians\u00a0 13 is known as the love chapter.\u00a0 In the world, in America, especially in our culture, love is a term being used in all different types of ways.\u00a0 For example, we hear things like love songs, or love stories. We also hear statements like love yourself; back in the 60\u2019s make love not war.\u00a0 You hear people say I love this, or I love that, I love this person or that person, I love God.\r\n\r\nAnd in fact, when you start looking up how our various English dictionaries define love it\u2019s heavily rooted in feelings and affection and emotion.\u00a0 For example, a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person, or an attraction that includes sexual desire, romantic love, and so forth.\u00a0 If we, then, are to use that definition as the basis of love as we walk out this thing called life, it\u2019s no wonder why many marriages end in divorce.\u00a0 And it\u2019s love, if we are honest with ourselves, it\u2019s love based solely on feelings and emotion, it\u2019s no wonder communities turn against authority, children turn against their parents.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t emotionally satisfy a basic need in my life then forget about it, I want nothing to do with it says the worldly person.\u00a0 Love, therefore, becomes selective, very selective in its approach, and also temporal in its duration.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to have love for you if you don\u2019t do this for me, or fulfill this or satisfy this in my life.\r\n\r\nHowever, when we examine the biblical definition of love we discover that it takes on an entirely different standard than the world standard of love; in fact, another dimension.\u00a0 I had you turn to 1 Corinthians 13:13, this will be the launching point of our topic, Christian love, and is says this: \u201cBut now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.\u201d\u00a0 The term \u201clove\u201d there in the Greek is the Greek term agap\u0113.\u00a0 <\/em>Now it\u2019s interesting to discover, when you reach the New Testament, you find the Jewish people using a foreign language, or should I say the dominant language which was the Greek.\r\n\r\nWhat happened?\u00a0 I thought the Jews spoke Hebrew.\u00a0 In the Old Testament we find the language predominantly in Hebrew, some Aramaic, but when you reach the New Testament it\u2019s all in Greek.\u00a0 And why is that.\u00a0 Not many people know this but between both Old and New Testament spans approximately 400 years and these are known by scholars as the silent years; also known as the testament, intertestamental period.\u00a0 As in the times of creation as the book of Genesis records, as in the times of the fall of man, in the times of the inception and downfall of the nation of Israel God was at work; God was orchestrating His sovereign will in spite of what was happening in history.\u00a0 And even in the silent years, between both Old and New Testament, He was working.\u00a0 God was working many things, important things transpired during those silent years.\r\n\r\nAnd the reason we find Greek as the dominant language was because of one man, Alexander the Great, succeeding his father, King Philip II, at the young age of 20 Alexander became the king of Macedon, we know now as Macedonia, from the years 336-323 B.C. \u00a0And amazingly during his brief reign he conquered from Greece to Egypt, to Babylon, all the way to the various parts of India.\u00a0 And there\u2019s Israel, there\u2019s Jerusalem.\u00a0 His relentless and successful campaign to conquer the ancient world was the reason the Greek language, the Greek culture and philosophy swept those areas; the culture, the ideals, the ideology, the philosophy were forcefully integrated in those societies, as well as the Greek language becoming the dominant language, or the lingua franca<\/em> as they say, including the Israelites.\u00a0 The Israelites learned this language.\r\n\r\nAnd speaking of the language what\u2019s also interesting is that when you begin to compare Hebrew and Greek, the languages, you discover that it has its own uniqueness and purpose.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard it said that Hebrew, the Hebrew language is a very colorful and vibrant language, filled with beauty and embellishment whereas the Greek language is very much unambiguous, very specific and to the point.\u00a0 Chuck Swindoll explained the two languages like this: If you compare the two as television sets the Hebrew language would be the colored TV set and the Greek language would be the black and white TV set.\r\n\r\nBeyond that the Greek language found in the New Testament is called Koine Greek, meaning common; it\u2019s a common language used by the common people.\u00a0 And isn\u2019t it interesting that when God, in His sovereignty, chose to superintend and inspire His New Testament account, that He did so in the language that was unambiguous, specific, explicit, and to the point, as black and white, a language where neither the reader nor the hearer could have any place for confusion.\u00a0 They wouldn\u2019t have a lot of room for a strange interpretation; it was clear, concise.\r\n\r\nI mean, just read the Old Testament and the New Testament. We find beauty in the Old Testament, poetry, proverbs, and the like.\u00a0 In the New Testament it\u2019s like you\u2019re reading the mind of a lawyer or a judge, just the facts, instruction, clearly, plainly laid out; laid out information for the reader so that he or she can make a conclusion, come to a conclusion.\u00a0 How many of you are thankful that God\u2019s Word is clear?\u00a0 Amen.\r\n\r\nAnd since love is the crux of this session let\u2019s look at the Greek words for love.\u00a0 There are actually four major Greek terms that describe the different types of love.\u00a0 All four of these are found in early Christian literature; there\u2019s \u1f00\u03b3\u03ac\u03c0\u03b7, [agap\u0113<\/em>] number 1, that\u2019s described as a divine, selfless, unconditional type of love.\u00a0 There\u2019s \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb\u03ad\u03c9, [phil\u00e9\u014d<\/em>]\u00a0 number 2, it\u2019s a natural affection, also known as brotherly love.\u00a0 Number 3, there\u2019s \u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c1\u03b3\u03ae \u00a0[storg\u0113<\/em>], that\u2019s also a natural and a familial love, love between family.\u00a0 And then there\u2019s \u1f14\u03c1\u03c9\u03c2<\/strong> [er<\/em>\u014ds<\/em>], it\u2019s a romantic type and a sexual type love.\u00a0\u00a0 Three of these are found, three of these Greek terms are found in the Bible and those are the first three,\r\n\r\nagap\u0113, phil\u00e9\u014d, storg\u0113.\u00a0 <\/em>What\u2019s very interesting to learn about agap\u0113<\/em>, says one scholar, his name is Leon Morris, he says, \u201cThe Word, though not entirely new, in the New Testament is almost completely lacking in pre-biblical Greek.\u201d\u00a0 He notes that \u201cthe characteristics of New Testament words, almost the only New Testament word for love, concludes that the reason the Christians use this word is that they had a new idea about the essential meaning of love.\u00a0 Morris admits that the verb agap\u0113,<\/em> was used often in pre-Christian times, in fact, it seems to weaken the newness of the Christian concept but insists that Christians gave it a deeper meaning when they did use it.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn other words, the vast majority of Greek writings were sort of absent of the word agap\u0113, <\/em>until the New Testament writers came along.\u00a0 And since our focus today is on Christian love let us focus on the first term, agap\u0113, <\/em>that is agap\u0113,<\/em> love; it essentially originates in God revealed in Christ and a model for Christians to imitate.\u00a0 This agap\u0113<\/em> love refers to a willed and an unselfish love.\u00a0 It\u2019s an act, not a feeling; it\u2019s an act of self-sacrifice for the good of another; agap\u0113<\/em> love is absent of feeling, absent of emotional content, regardless of the amount of generosity or circumstance.\r\n\r\nLeon Morris says this again about agap\u0113<\/em>.\u00a0 He says, agap\u0113<\/em> and it\u2019s noun denote a free and decisive act of its subject.\u00a0 Perhaps a good way of grasping this is to contrast it with the idea conveyed by er<\/em>\u014ds<\/em>, remember er<\/em>\u014ds<\/em> is a romantic and sexual love.\u00a0 We contrast it by that; he says that \u201ctwo principle characteristics of er<\/em>\u014ds<\/em> is a love only of the working and it\u2019s a love that desires to possess.\u00a0 But agap\u0113<\/em>, in contrast, it contrasts both points; in other words, it\u2019s not a love only to the worthy and it\u2019s not a love that desires to possess.\u00a0 On the contrary, it\u2019s a love that is given quite irrespective of merits and it\u2019s a love that seeks to give.\r\n\r\nAnother scholar, Kenneth Wuest offers this angle: \u201cThe one word which indicates character is preciousness.\u00a0 Agap\u0113<\/em> is a love called out of one\u2019s heart by the preciousness of the object of love.\u00a0 It is a love of esteem, of evaluation; it has the idea of prizing and it recognizes the worthiness of the object loved.\u00a0 It is a love of approbation, devoid of sensuousness, the noblest word in the Greek language.\u201d\u00a0 He goes on to say, \u201cThe idea of self-sacrifice for the benefit of some other person who is one\u2019s enemy and naturally unlovable.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, Christian love, agap\u0113<\/em> love is an unconditional love, a gratuitous love, given to \u201cthe good, the bad and the ugly.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s agap\u0113<\/em> love.\r\n\r\nAnd I would call agap\u0113<\/em> love closely related to God\u2019s grace; it\u2019s a love unmerited, it\u2019s a love that does not seek its own as 1 Corinthians 13:5 says.\u00a0 It seeks the regard of another human being, it finds fulfillment in the sacrifice of itself, agap\u0113<\/em> love .\r\n\r\nIn Galatians 5:22 Paul further defines this love, that is the love that is produced by the Holy Spirit in the yielded believer.\u00a0 Remember Galatians 5:22, \u201cBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace\u2026.\u201d And so forth.\u00a0\u00a0 I had you turn to 1 Corinthians 13:13, if you go up a few verses Paul gives a brief treatment of love and listing the various characteristics of love, \u201cLove is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, [5] does not act unbecomingly;\u201d in other words, it doesn\u2019t act like a jerk, \u201cit does not seek its own, is not provoked,\u201d love \u201cdoes not take into account a wrong suffered,\u201d Wow!\u00a0 [6] Love \u201cdoes not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;\u201d\u00a0 [7] love \u201cbears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,\u201d and the love \u201cendures all things.\u00a0 [8] Love never fails\u2026.\u201d\r\n\r\nSo to get more familiar with agap\u0113<\/em> love, this Christian love, it is first necessary to grasp and understand the source of it.\u00a0 And what better way than to begin with God.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 The Bible says \u201cGod is love,\u201d and the source of it.\u00a0 [1 John 4:8, \u201cThe one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.\u201d]\u00a0 He is not merely love, He IS love.\u00a0 He is love itself.\u00a0 John 4:8 says \u201cGod is love,\u201d and not only that, His love is perfect.\r\n\r\nNotice I didn\u2019t say love is perfected, as in the past tense; there was never a time when God\u2019s love was not perfect.\u00a0 He Himself is love perfect.\u00a0 If God is love then logically love is sourced in God.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 Love comes from God and the Scriptures emphasize that.\u00a0 1 John 4:7 says \u201clove is from God\u201d.\u00a0 [1 John 4:7, \u201cBeloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.\u201d]\r\n\r\nSo God is love, love is God, but interestingly another scholar, [can't understand name] states that it would be incorrect to say that love is God.\u00a0 Kind of confusing, right?\u00a0 \u201cGod is love\u201d but it\u2019s incorrect to say love is God. \u00a0The two nouns in the statement, \u201cGod is love\u201d are not interchangeable, he says, \u201csince the definite article occurs with God [can't understand word] but not with love.\u00a0 To make them reversible would offer a basis for pantheism.\u201d\r\n\r\nGod\u2019s love does not lack either.\u00a0 In other words, when He dispenses His love He does not love in piecemeal, or a fraction of it; He loves infinitely; not only infinitely He loves everlasting; duration.\u00a0 When He loves He loves in love\u2019s fullness and completeness.\u00a0 When we (human love) we can sometimes love selectively, right, with partiality or bias.\u00a0 That\u2019s our kind of love.\u00a0 Or sometimes not at all.\u00a0 We have the capacity to not love at all.\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. S. Lewis once said, \u201cOn the whole God\u2019s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him.\u201d Love is intrinsic to the character and nature of God, therefore everything that God does is sourced and driven by love, His character, His action, even His inaction. Ever wondered why God doesn\u2019t answer certain prayers in your life?\u00a0 It\u2019s because He loves you infinitely and He knows better.\u00a0 Amen!<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nGod\u2019s love neither interferes, overrides or hinders His other attributes.\u00a0 [can't understand word] that God is holy, Amen.\u00a0 God is righteous, God is light, He is omniscient, omnipresent and all those things.\u00a0 ALL of those attributes are in complete harmony with His love.\u00a0\u00a0 This is an interesting issue, or is an interesting verse because this verse, John 4:7, it\u2019s implying that\u2026 it says, \u00a0\u201cBeloved, let us love one another, for love is from God;\u201d is implying that the only reason that we have a capacity to agap\u0113<\/em> love is because of God.\u00a0 And how do we know that?\u00a0 Because of this three lettered word there, a conjunction in verse 7, the word \u201cfor,\u201d \u201cBeloved, let us love one another, for,\u201d that\u2019s the Greek word [hoti<\/em>] and it is used in an adverbial causal sense.\u00a0 It\u2019s a subordinating conjunction that expresses the basic or ground for an action.\u00a0 What\u2019s the action?\u00a0 The action is \u201clet us love one another\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s the basis of that love?\u00a0 God!\u00a0 Our very capacity to agap\u0113<\/em> love is due to the fact that love comes from God.\r\n\r\nI have a few questions concerning God\u2019s love.\u00a0 On what has God positioned His love on?\u00a0 Answer: us, humanity, sinful men and women.\u00a0 We all know John 3:16, \u201cFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,\u201d notice that, \u201cFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.\u201d\u00a0 So you\u2019re saying does God love the believer and the unbeliever the same?\u00a0 YES!\u00a0 A resounding YES!\u00a0 There\u2019s no partiality with God, Romans 2:11.\u00a0 [Romans 2:11, \u201cFor there is no partiality with God.\u201d]\r\n\r\nWe just read in John 3:16, \u201cFor God so loved the world that whosoever\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Ephesians 2:4 says, \u201cBut God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).\u201d\u00a0 Yes, He loves the believer and the unbeliever.\r\n\r\nDid God prove His love?\u00a0 Yes He did, Romans 5:8 says, \u201cBut God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,\u201d how did He prove His love, \u201cChrist died for us.\u201d\r\n\r\nOne more question:\u00a0 How does that affect me?\u00a0 Now that I know about this divine love sourced in God what am I supposed to do with this information?\u00a0 Can we turn to John 13:34, I\u2019m glad you asked that question.\u00a0 How does it affect me?\u00a0 Christ, the incarnation of God\u2019s love, God Himself, said this, John 13:34, He says, \u201cA new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,\u201d\u00a0 agap\u0113<\/em>\u00a0 \u201ceven as I have loved you, that you also love one another.\u00a0 [35] By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.\u201d\r\n\r\nJesus here is dialing back to Leviticus 19:18, notice he said, \u201cA new commandment I give you,\u201d and in Leviticus 19:18 it says, \u201cyou shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d\u00a0 [Leviticus 19:18, \u201cYou shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.\u201d]\u00a0 How is that new?\u00a0 Is it new?\u00a0 Of course it\u2019s new.\u00a0 When God said back in Leviticus \u201clove your neighbor as yourself\u201d He said, that\u2019s exactly what He said, \u201clove your neighbor as yourself.\u201d\u00a0 And we all know loving ourselves comes very naturally.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 When I\u2019m hungry I feed myself; sometimes I over feed myself because I love myself so much.\u00a0 Sometimes when I find Fabi\u2019s chocolate stash I eat it all up because I love myself so much.\u00a0 \u00a0I take pretty good care of myself concerning hygiene and things like that.\u00a0 It\u2019s not hard to love myself.\r\n\r\nThe challenge is to love others the way I love myself; that\u2019s the challenge.\u00a0 Here Jesus\u2019 new command instructs us to love others as He loved\u00a0 you.\u00a0 And He loved us by giving Himself up for you, even in your ugliness and sinfulness He set the example of God\u2019s love.\u00a0 Now that becomes a bit easier to love another person, God already set the example.\u00a0 There\u2019s also another important word, two lettered word, in John 13:35 that sometimes we can gloss over if we\u2019re not careful; it\u2019s the word \u201cif.\u201d\u00a0 Look at John 13:35, \u201cBy this all men will know that you are My disciples, if<\/u> you have love for one another.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s a two-lettered word and that\u2019s the biggest word in the English dictionary, \u201cif you have love for one another.\u201d\r\n\r\nNow just to reiterate this is not phil\u00e9\u014d<\/em> love, \u00a0this is not a brotherly love he\u2019s talking about; this is agap\u0113<\/em> love, this is a selfless love, a love that esteems in regards to one another, another man, another woman.\u00a0 \u201cBy this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s a song out there by a contemporary Christian group called D.C. Talk, and there\u2019s a line in there that prefaces one of their songs, it goes like this:\u00a0 The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.\u00a0 That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelieving. Christ said \u201cBy this\u201d love for one another, \u201call men will know that you are My disciples,\u201d \u201call men\u201d both believer and unbeliever.\u00a0 [John 13:35, \u201cBy this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.\u201d]\r\n\r\nNow this becomes a very critical issue for the believer because Scripture tells us that if we love God, if we love God<\/u> we would keep His commandments, John 14:15.\u00a0 [John 14:15, \u201cIf you love Me, you will keep My commandments.\u201d]\u00a0 And given the demonstration of God\u2019s love that He displayed for us, given the example of Christ\u2019s love that He demonstrated for us,\u00a0 we Christians, now, are to be identified by that love.\u00a0 We are to take on the characteristics of that agap\u0113<\/em> love, that selfless love.\u00a0 We are to be led by that love.\u00a0 If we do not then Scripture tells us that we not only don\u2019t know God, we don\u2019t love Him either.\u00a0 That\u2019s pretty harsh, cutting.\r\n\r\n1 John 4:8 says, \u201cThe one who does not love does not know God\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Do you know God?\u00a0 Then you should be loving, right?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026for God is love.\u201d\u00a0 John 14:23 says, \u201cIf anyone loves me,\u201d notice the word \u201cIf,\u201d \u201che will keep My word.\u201d\u00a0 And then verse 24, \u201cHe who does not love Me does not keep My words\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Very strong statements by Christ Himself.\u00a0 So these verses are essentially saying my lack of love for others is essentially a lack of knowledge for Him.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 And my lack of love for Him is a result of not loving or keeping His Word.\r\n\r\nWell Gabe, how do I love Him?\u00a0 How do I know that I\u2019m really loving God?\u00a0 How do I begin this process of cultivating genuine agap\u0113<\/em> love for God and for others?\u00a0 I\u2019m glad you asked.\u00a0 Do you have\u00a0 your pens ready?\u00a0 Let me read this once again: John 14:23, \u201cIf anyone loves me, he will keep My word.\u201d\u00a0 John 14:15, \u201cIf you love Me, you will keep My commandments.\u201d\u00a0 John 14:21, \u201cHe who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; [and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.:\u2019]\r\n\r\n2 John 6, \u201cAnd this is love, that we walk according to His commandments.\u201d\u00a0 1 John 5:3, \u201cFor this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.\u201d\u00a0 I used to say man, I\u2019ve got to love that guy, that\u2019s pretty hard.\u00a0 No it\u2019s not!\u00a0 God already did it.\u00a0 As an individual believer currently what book of the Bible are you reading and studying as a devotional?\u00a0 Are we keeping His Word, are we\u2026 He says, \u201cHe who has My commandments,\u201d are we reading His Word?\u00a0 Are you having personal devotion?\u00a0 Which book of God\u2019s Word are you and God going through at this present time, currently.\u00a0 When you go home at night or in the morning, or wherever \u2026 are we reading His Word?\u00a0 Are we learning to cultivate a love for His Word?\u00a0 Is the Word of God a focus in your family?\u00a0 Is it practiced?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t He say \u201cwalk?\u201d\u00a0 Is it modeled in your home?\u00a0 Is it honored in your home?\r\n\r\nI believe this is where it should begin, in the home.\u00a0 Are you married, single, no kids, [can't understand word] word?\u00a0 Do you make time, do you carve out time to honor God\u2019s Word or read God\u2019s Word in your home, openly, in front of your children, in front of your wife.\u00a0 Husbands, are you reading the Word with your wife?\u00a0 Are\u00a0 you leading spiritually?\u00a0 Wives, are you letting your husband lead or are you taking the lead?\u00a0\u00a0 I tell my daughter, are you helping or are you hindering?\u00a0 Is there room for God\u2019s Word in your home?\u00a0\u00a0 Well Gabe, I read my Bible, I pray, I read it with my children, I go to Bible study and all that.\u00a0 What should that look like?\u00a0 If I could put feet on this agap\u0113<\/em> love and walk this out what would that look like?\r\n\r\nThe Bible answers these questions; agap\u0113<\/em> love originates and is sourced in God.\u00a0 And that would mean divine love can only be dispensed by Him.\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 And that\u2019s through the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 The Bible calls this the fruit\u2026 the fruit of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 And don\u2019t think for a second that this divine type love can be conjured in\u00a0 your own strength, by your own strength.\u00a0 Good luck with that.\u00a0 It is a fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 In order to bear fruit we learned in Pastor Andy\u2019s series on John, in John 15 Jesus teaches that the branches are the believer, right, [can't understand word] abide in the true vine, the branches being the believer, the vine being Christ Himself, not just to bear fruit to bear much fruit.\u00a0 And if there isn\u2019t much bearing Christ says there\u2019s much burning.\u00a0 Bearing is good, burning is bad.\r\n\r\nSo Galatians 5:22 says this, \u201cBut the fruit of the Spirit is love\u2026,\u201d and just reiterate it\u2019s important to observe that the fruit there is not produced by the believer, but by the Holy Spirit working through the believer who is in vital union with Christ, John 15.\u00a0 And how do we maintain union with Christ?\u00a0 Abiding in Him, going back to those verses, keeping His commandments, walking in His commandments.\u00a0 That is love, loving His Word, fellowship with God; agap\u0113<\/em> love is a God-given quality only produced in the believer by active fellowship with God.\u00a0 Because this agap\u0113<\/em> love is an action\u2026 it\u2019s an action, it\u2019s not an emotion, it manifests itself in action; agap\u0113<\/em> love is action.\u00a0 So what does that look like?\u00a0 How does agap\u0113<\/em> love look in action, particularly with other people?\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s turn to John 15 if we could; this is where Jesus and His disciples are in the Upper Room and He is giving His famous Upper Room discourse.\u00a0 After giving a treatment of the vine and the branches, exhorting His disciples to abide in Him and bear much fruit, He commands them this: now we\u2019re answering the question, how does God bearing his love look like in action?\u00a0 Look at verse 12, \u201cThis is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.\u201d\u00a0 Here it is, [13] \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.\u201d\u00a0 What does agap\u0113<\/em> love look like?\u00a0 Laying down your life; agap\u0113<\/em> love again, remember it\u2019s self-less, it\u2019s sacrificial.\u00a0 Here Christ is illustrating the greatest action of love that one can ever demonstrate.\r\n\r\nAnd beyond that Jesus put His money where His mouth is, right?\u00a0 (If I can use that term).\u00a0 And it\u2019s likely that here the disciples recalled Christ\u2019s parable, the parable of the Good Shepherd, remember that, in John 10:11, where the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep.\u00a0 [John 10:11, \u201cI am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.\u201d]\u00a0 \u00a0He not only laid it down He laid it down on His own initiative, John 10:18.\u00a0 [John 10:18, \u201cNo one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.\u201d]\u00a0 No one coerced Christ to lay down His life; no one pressured Christ to give up His life for us; agap\u0113<\/em> love is an exercise of the will and it is selfless.\r\n\r\n1 Corinthians 5:14 says this, \u201cFor the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; [15] and He died for all,\u201d and here it is, \u201cso that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.\u201d\u00a0 Love is selfless, it\u2019s emptying himself or herself.\u00a0 Paul spoke about this very thing concerning Christ.\u00a0 Romans 5:8, \u201cBut God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, [Christ died for us.]\u201d regardless of the circumstances, Christ gave Himself up.\u00a0\u00a0 Regardless of whether you are pretty or ugly God gave Himself for us.\u00a0 Christ died for us.\r\n\r\nAnd even the Apostle John reiterates this so his audience.\u00a0 1 John 3:16, how does look in action, he says, \u201cWe know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.\u201d\u00a0 \u201c\u2026we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Lay our lives down for the brethren... what does that look like?\u00a0 What does laying down our lives look like?\u00a0 Well, praise be to God if God allows to actually die for our brethren in Christ, that form of love is what He calls the greatest love, the greatest form of love.\u00a0 Is there a lesser form of love that I can live out, if I could use it that way?\u00a0 Of course, of course there is; I can give up my time, I can give up my resources, I can give up my finances.\u00a0 We see in the New Testament that the disciples did all of this; they gave up their very careers and families.\u00a0 Our finances, everyone grabs their wallet all of a sudden.\u00a0 It\u2019s not ours anyway, right?\u00a0 It\u2019s God\u2019s.\u00a0 You can give of yourself in service.\r\n\r\nThis brings us to our next action, what does agap\u0113<\/em> love look like; agap\u0113<\/em> love is service; it\u2019s service.\u00a0 Can you turn with me to 1 John 3:18, you\u2019ll notice that we\u2019re heavily referencing the Apostle John\u2019s book, his books, the love apostle?\u00a0 I just find that very interesting.\u00a0 1 John 3:18, let\u2019s start from verse 16, \u201cWe know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. \u00a0[17] But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?\u00a0 [18] Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhat does agap\u0113<\/em> love look like?\u00a0 Giving!\u00a0 Deeds!\u00a0 Here we first see what agap\u0113<\/em> love is not, verse 18, agap\u0113<\/em> love is not word, it\u2019s deeds.\u00a0 The Greek word \u201cdeed\u201d there, ergo<\/em>, comes from the root, ergon<\/em>, it has the idea of work, involving work or labor, both physical and mental labor.\u00a0 So wives, the next time your husband says \u201cI love you, I love you sweetheart,\u201d you can say \u201cshow me.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s service; agap\u0113<\/em> love is service, it\u2019s giving of yourself, it\u2019s service using your God-given ability.\u00a0 And let\u2019s not forget who the Apostle John was speaking to; he was speaking to fellow believers.\u00a0 Remember John was an apostle and remember God gave apostles and prophets and evangelists, pastors and teachers for the equipping of what? the saints, for the work of the\u2026 service, so the building up of the body of Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s Ephesians 4:11-12.\r\n\r\nIn fact, there is an end goal for this building up of the body; there is a reason why Pastor Andy and the elders and the Sunday School teachers do this thing called ministry week after week after week.\u00a0 If we read a few verses down, in verse 16, Ephesians 4:11, \u201cAnd He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, [12] for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith\u2026\u201d and so forth, [\u201cand of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.\u201d]\r\n\r\nAnd then jump down to verse 16, \u201cfrom whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love,\u201d agap\u0113<\/em> love; agap\u0113<\/em> love is service, it\u2019s service going forth because of the design and sacrificial love God has demonstrated to us.\u00a0 And it\u2019s also a love that results from abiding in Him, loving His Word, keeping His commandments.\r\n\r\nHow is all of this agap\u0113<\/em> love accomplished.\u00a0 I mean, if agap\u0113<\/em> love is sourced in God, if it\u2019s produced by the Holy Spirit, and if agap\u0113<\/em> love is manifested through selflessness and sacrifice and all that, how then is love achieved.\u00a0 And this brings us to our last action, agap\u0113<\/em> love is achieved in obedience.\u00a0 And this brings us right back around to our verses before, \u201cIf you love Me, you will keep My commandments.\u201d\u00a0 [John 14:15]\u00a0 Obedience! \u00a0\u00a0He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me,\u201d [John 14:21]\u00a0 Obedience!\u00a0 John 14:23, \u201c\u2026If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Obedience!\u00a0 These verses imply observance to God\u2019s commands, obedience to God\u2019s Word; after all, did not Christ command us to do so?\r\n\r\nAnd what will happen if we obey?\u00a0 What happens when we obey the commands of the Word of God?\u00a0 Is there a result to all of this?\u00a0 1 John 2:5 answers that question, \u201cbut whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. \u00a0[By this we know that we are in Him:]\u201d\u00a0 God\u2019s love, \u00a0agap\u0113<\/em> love in us can be perfected.\u00a0 1 John 4:12 says, \u201c\u2026if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.\u201d\u00a0 1 John 4:17 says, \u201cBy this\u201d what\u2019s \u201cthis\u201d?\u00a0 Love for one another, \u201cBy this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment;\u201d whoa, \u201cbecause as He is, so also are we in this world.\u201d\u00a0 God\u2019s love is perfected when we love others.\u00a0 That\u2019s exciting.\r\n\r\nWell, so what?\u00a0 What\u2019s the application?\u00a0 How then shall we walk?\u00a0\u00a0 Now that we know what\u00a0 agap\u0113<\/em> love is let us be responsible to walk in it.\u00a0 Ephesians 5:1-2 says, \u201cTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; [2] and walk in love,\u201d agap\u0113<\/em> love, \u201cjust as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.\u201d\u00a0 Agap\u0113<\/em> love, we looked at a brief history of the Greek language; we defined agap\u0113<\/em> love and we answered a series of questions in regard to love; we learned a little bit about the nature of God\u2019s love, some key characteristics of agap\u0113<\/em> love, like its selflessness, its sacrificial nature, its service, its obedience and hopefully an application to walk in this love that God commands us to walk in.\u00a0 And as we survey the landscape and the temperature of our country and of our world I think it\u2019s very important for us to walk in this love, in this election season, oh-oh, let us love one another as He has loved us.\u00a0 Amen.\r\n\r\nAt the end of our sermons here at SLBC, we make it a point to share the gospel with you because there may be some out there who may not know what this agap\u0113<\/em> love of God is and it\u2019s been said again and again through this message that divine love originates in God.\u00a0 And it has been demonstrated, this love has been demonstrated by the sending of His Son to die for us; that was a proof of God\u2019s love.\u00a0 God loved us so much, so much that He gave His prized possession, when heaven went bankrupt He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for all of those who are sitting in this room and for all of those in the world.\u00a0 That\u2019s the gospel.\u00a0 Jesus lived, Jesus died, and He was buried and was raised again on the third day, because He loved you, and not only because He loves you but He wanted to reconcile you with your Creator.\u00a0\u00a0 And there\u2019s no greater love than that, Christ\u2019s sacrifice for you.\r\n\r\nRomans 5:8 again, \u201cGod demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d \u00a0You, right now, can enter in that love, right now you can experience that love, first hand, where you are.\u00a0 How do you do that?\u00a0 By responding to the gospel, the gospel message; you trust in Jesus Christ, what He has done for you.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to verbally respond, you don\u2019t have to walk an aisle, it\u2019s in the privacy of your heart and mind, between you and God.\u00a0 You respond by faith or by trusting in what Christ has done for you.\u00a0 And if you\u2019ve done that by the authority of God\u2019s Word you are now a child of God.\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 That\u2019s exciting news; you have just gained eternal life.\u00a0\u00a0 And we celebrate with you just as heaven celebrates with you right now.\u00a0 Amen. Or if you need more clarification I\u2019m available to talk.\u00a0 Shall we pray.\u00a0 Thank you, Father, for Your Word; thank You Lord that You have preserved this message of agap\u0113<\/em> love and You gave the ultimate demonstration of love by sending Your Son to die in our place, and because of that we can walk in the same agap\u0113<\/em> love.\u00a0 And let us again, let us be responsible to walk out this agap\u0113<\/em> love and may we do it for Your glory, and it\u2019s in Jesus\u2019 name I pray.\u00a0 And God\u2019s people said Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t