Love Began With God

Love Began With God

We can’t talk about love for each other until we establish that love began with God. It was He who first loved us, giving us the spirit of love. Remember one of the definitions of love describe a oneness or a kinship. God is our Father. He loves us. He loved us from the beginning and He has our best in mind. His plans for us are better than any plans we can think of for ourselves. Sometimes we feel like things just aren’t going our way and we’re saying, “God, where are you?” He is right with us, working all things together for our good. Because He can see the end from the beginning, and we can only see right now, it appears that we’re abandoned. But we are not abandoned. He said He will never leave us nor forsake us. It’s completely possible that we have to learn to trust Him and we’ll never learn to trust Him until it appears that we’re losing the battle. That’s when He will show Himself strong on our behalf. Because He can see the end of the matter, He’ll work it out so that even though it seems hard right now, He’s actually lining up the circumstances so that we’ll have an even greater victory in the end.

 One of my cousins told me that God allows us to go through trouble so that we will become closer to Him. I’m not sure that I agree with that, but I have found that because I need Him so much more now after suffering some financial setbacks, I do find myself talking to Him so much more and for depending on Him to make a way for me. So maybe my cousin has a point.

 Love is the first fruit named in the fruit of the Spirit. Again, because love is the attribute that all the other fruit stem from. We can’t have joy unless we have love. We can’t have peace unless we have love. We certainly can’t have faith unless we have love. This is why the fact that God loves us has to be firmly established in our hearts. I can say, “oh yeah, I know that God loves me” a thousand times a day in my head, but until it’s established on the inside of me, it’s really just saying words. Until I get to the belief deep inside me that God loves me and He is for me, I can’t even begin to have faith. Sure, I know the verse from John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life.” This verse is the proof of God’s love for humanity. I think that yes, if I believe that God sent His Son to die for me and that believing this I can get into heaven, but what about here and now? I need the assurance that God loves me. He cares whether I get a better job. He will provide the money to pay my bills. He will protect me and my family from harm. He will give me the right words to say in a given situation. He will hear my prayers and heal the sick relative or friend I have prayed for. I need to know and really hold on to the belief that God loves me. He will by His power provide for me, keep me well, keep me on the right path in life, and more importantly of all, He has really forgiven my sins and wiped the slate clean on my behalf. Really? All those self-centered ways, all those mean thoughts I’ve had about others? All the conniving underhanded things I’ve done? How I have (and have done lately) told other people’s business? And here’s the worst: I have watched the news or heard bad reports and ingested the negativity and the fear going around in the world. In spite of all this and in spite of what I’ve done and am sometimes still doing, God loves me and He is for me.

The writers of the Old Testament referred to God’s love for us as “His merciful kindness” (Psalm 117:2). Mercy is described as compassionate forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power. It can also be described as forgiveness, benevolence, kindness, clemency, and pardon. 

 Psalm 103:8-10 says, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our sins.”

 Joel 2:13 says, “…Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.”

At the end of Jonah Chapter 3 (verse 10) God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them (the people of Nineveh) and He did not do it. Chapter 4 begins with Jonah getting angry and explaining just why he didn’t want to go to Nineveh as he was instructed.

 Jonah 4:2: “So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah LORD, was this not what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.”

We, in the present, also receive God’s mercy daily and if that weren’t enough, we also receive God’s grace: the free and unearned favor of God that He gave us when He sent His son to die on the cross to atone for our sins and the provision of His daily blessings. Whereas the Old Testament writers only could describe God’s love by His mercy, we can describe it by His mercy and His grace.

Isaiah: The First of the Major Prophets

 

Isaiah's Vision of the LORD

According to The Voice, in an editorial paragraph preceding Ezekiel Chapter 2, Though God is unseen, from time to time human beings are given the privilege of seeing His glory.

Isaiah 6:1 begins with Isaiah giving us the time in history when he had this vision. He wrote, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple." Isaiah thought that truly he would die, knowing that he was a man of unclean lips, dwelling among people of unclean lips, yet he had seen the King, The LORD of hosts." verse 6: Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7. And he touched my mouth with it and said:

"Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin is purged (atoned for).

This purging of Isaiah's lips proves once more that the business of cleansing us from sin is God's alone. Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake. Jeremiah 31:34 says, “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying “know the LORD,” for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Paul later reiterated all this for us in the New Testament, writing in Hebrews 8:11-12 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying ‘know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. As if this wasn’t enough, Paul made a further point in Hebrews 10:16. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts and in their minds I will write them. 17. then He adds, ‘Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.’

Robes of Righteousness: Cleaned up and dressed up

In Isaiah 64:6, the prophet Isaiah complains to God that “we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…”

Notice that it is our so-called righteous deeds that are like filthy rags. It is not that we are like filthy rags. God created us a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5 and Hebrews 2:7). We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). It is when we try to approach God dressed in our own clothes of self-righteousness, instead of humbling ourselves before Him and letting Him do the work of making us clean, that we get into trouble.

Note Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with  jewels.

Unfortunately, some of us refuse to be “re-dressed” by God. Jesus mentioned such a person in Matthew 22:11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12. so he said to him, Friend how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

The above passage sound so puzzling. After all, the servants had gone out to the highways, and invited as many people as they could to the wedding. The part that perhaps isn’t obvious is that in those times, a king would offer appropriate wedding garments to his guests. This person must have thought his own clothes were fine.

Note Rev. 3:18-19 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich: and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed…


Note what happened in Zechariah’s vision concerning the high priest Joshua in Zechariah 3:1-4

1.      Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. 4. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.

The birth of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah's prophecy of the Birth of Jesus is a multi-layered prophecy that did have a partial fulfillment in the birth of a son to Isaiah as a sign to king Ahaz. (See Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 8:3-4)

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: (this is Isaiah talking to King Ahaz) Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (which means God with us).

Nancy Guthrie, In her book called, "The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament," wrote, "The true final fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy is in Christ alone. Only Jesus could be "God with us."

Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.


The scourging and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 50:6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

Isaiah 53:4-7 Surely He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth;

I Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed.

 Jesus as a light to the Gentiles

Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.

Romans 15:12 And again, Isaiah says: There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.

Isaiah 56: 6-7 Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants-Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant- Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations. See Matthew 21:13.

Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations, Says the LORD of hosts.

 

The chief cornerstone to us but a rock of offense to others

Isaiah chapter 8:14 He will be as a sanctuary , But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Psalms 118:22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.

Matthew 21: 42 Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes? 44. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whoever it falls, it will grind him to powder. (Luke 20:17-18, Romans 9:33, and I Peter 2:6-8 are exactly the same.)

Holy Communion

Receiving Communion helps us remember the price that was paid for our sins on the cross

     The table is set. The bread and the wine (or grape juice) is ready, however some of us feel that we are not qualified to take part in communion. Some of us feel as though because we’ve sinned or because we haven’t yet been baptized, that we aren’t worthy. Both communion and baptism are ordinances of the church. It is true that baptism is involved with the forgiveness of sins, but it must be stressed that what saves us is not the baptism, but the forgiveness of sin, which is a gift from God. This gift was purchased for us by the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross. To show our appreciation for the finished work of Christ (and to show obedience to his direct command: ”Do this in remembrance of me,) we receive Holy Communion as a participation in, and as a proclamation of, his death. Don’t feel as though you are unworthy to take communion. Communion is for all of us. When Christ died on the cross, he died for us all. He changed us from “unworthy” to “worthy.” He changed us from “unqualified” to “qualified.” In I Corinthians 11, Paul writes that some eat and drink judgement to themselves when they partake in a manner that is unworthy, specifically when they do not discern the Lord’s body that was broken for us. When we eat the wafer and drink from the cup, we are to recall how his body was broken and how his blood was shed to pay the penalty for sin. Our penalty has been paid!! As long as we believe that Christ died for us and that He rose again on the third day, and that He is alive today, seated at the right hand of the Father, we are qualified to receive communion. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

                                            Holy Communion

Matt. 26:26-28 Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

²⁶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed^[b] and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
²⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ For this is My blood of the new^[c] covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 14:22-24   Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

²² And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat;^[b] this is My body.”
²³ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new^[c] covenant, which is shed for many.

Luke 22: 19-20 Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

¹⁹ And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
²⁰ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

I Cor. 11:23-26 Institution of the Lord’s Supper

²³ For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat;^[b] this is My body which is broken^[c] for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

 

Christ was always there from the beginning and look at what He’s done for us!

Genesis 1 New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…
 

Genesis 11 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

⁶ And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. ⁷ Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Isaiah 7 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.⁽ Literally God-With-Us)

Isaiah 9 New King James Version (NKJV)

6 For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

John 1 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Eternal Word

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God

The Word Becomes Flesh

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 17 New King James Version (NKJV)

Jesus Prays for Himself

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should^[a] give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴ I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

 

Romans 1 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. ¹⁷ This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight

Romans 3 New Living Translation (NLT)

Christ Took Our Punishment

²¹ But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. ²² We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.
 

Romans 8:28  King James Version (KJV)
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
³¹ What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
³² He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Romans 10 New Living Translation (NLT)

Salvation Is for Everyone

⁵ For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands.

⁹ If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
 

Ephesians 1 New Living Translation (NLT)

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. ⁴ Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.^{[b] 7} He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

 

 Ephesians 2 New International Version (NIV)

Made Alive in Christ

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

Philippians 2 King James Version

  ⁵Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
   ⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
   ⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
   ⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
   ⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
   ¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
   ¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1 New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—

2 Timothy 1

⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,