God & His Nature: Love

Examining the relationship between God and Love

• Love of God – God’s desiring for us to be fulfilled in Him and for His glory to be pronounced loudly.
• 1 John 4:8 – God is love. This phrase is not reversible.
• One of the really amazing parts of love to me is how it is so intricately connected to His other attributes i.e. grace, mercy, kindness, justice.
• Understanding what love is and how God is love helps better know how to act and behave. As well as provides us with the security of knowing that God acts out of towards us.

Focus on 1 John 4:7-21: Love is a tremendous gift from God. Only in God                              does love truly exist.

The Ahavah Initiative

Something incredibly radical takes place here in verses 10&11. This is so radical because it changes the way we might understand love. Love is not a kind of human outpouring of affection to God. But love first comes from God to us, then we might pass true love to others. Because, and only because of the Lord’s love to us are we capable of loving others and Him.

One of the most frustrating parts of love is that it is best defined by listing its attributes. And we see these listed in 1 Corinthians 13. (Read) It is much like identifying a painting in a museum. It is recognized by its attributes, i.e. a frame, brush strokes, etc. Love is similar in that we can see something and go “Ah, that is love.” How do we know? Because it fits what the Lord says about love here, here, and here. This love that God possesses is shown to us most perfectly through the atonement of our sins, paid by the blood of Christ on the Cross.

Q.) How do we know if we have acted in a way of love towards other people?
Q.) How do we know God’s love for us?

The Importance of Studying Theology

What is Theology?

Theology is the study of God, as well as His interactions with Humanity,                          and His knowability. Christian theology presumes that God can be known.                      This not a major issue because of the Bible’s explicit telling us that God                             can be known.

We all make theological claims

Because of this it is of even greater importance that we know what we are                          talking about. The Bible reveals to us Who God is. Theological statements                       would not need to be studied if there was no way for us to know Who God is.                       We can know and we ought to know it well. We believe that God is the                             Sovereign Ruler of the universe, thus the way we view the universe ought                           to different from the way that the non-believer views the universe. With                             things such as hope, joy, peace, etc.

Theology as our Paradigm

The truths that we hold within our theological statement make up what is                          our paradigm when viewing the world. Everything we see and do ought to
be the way it is because of our beliefs about God. He is our God – We know Him personally, intimately Who He is changes who we are. How He loves changes how we love.

The End Goal of Theology

Theology leads to worship. The knowledge is nowhere near an end in                                 itself. As we study God we begin to see images and brush strokes of a                                     Divine Being Who loves us more than we can possibly imagine. We begin to get wrapped up in a blanket that is being hurled in a whirlwind. And that love we feel is what will change us forever. Theology leads to a growth of knowledge As we grow in knowledge we grow in worship as well

Definition of Christian: One who aligns Himself with the teachings and priorities   of Jesus Christ. The hope is that as we learn more about God we will learn more            about Who it is that He wants for us to be s the universe. With things such as hope, joy, peace, etc.